Harriet Potter and the Misandry League
by Radiklement
Summary: Harriet Potter has been raised by Remus and Sirius, since the death of James at the hands of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She prepare herself for Hogwarts, full of expectations, but not expecting a new rise of You-know-who and the fact she might be facing dark wizards in her very first year. The secluded girl hopes to make new friends. But Hogwarts is not for the weak of heart.
1. The girl with three fathers

I might say I'm new to this section of , but I've read Harry Potter's fic for a long long time. And I've been on this site for… about 14 years now, so I guess I'm more used to it than I should. A word of warning before starting the story: I'm a French writer first and more used to American English, so the speech might not be accurate for every character. Or any of them. I also read most of the books in French first, so I might miss a few original name, like Hogwarts' rooms or something. I'm making all I can to correct myself, since I really love the universe Rowling created. Although I might have done a few changes here and there, but this is fanfiction after all. I'd like to say that if you like this story and would like to see it written with better grammar, I'm open to beta-reading. I'd actually really like to have one beta reader.

The story: Harriet Potter, daughter of James Potter and unknown mother, has been raised by her godfathers, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, despite the threat of she-who-must-not-be-named, a witch killing Muggle and wizard alike, for being either homosexual or despotic patriarchs. Harriet is preparing herself for Hogwarts, knowing that she'll study with her best and only friend, Neville Longbottom, who's been adopted and raised by Lily Evans, their potion master. Will Harriet be able to shed any light on she-who-must-be-named's real reasons for killing James Potter, or even to put an end to the mindless killings that could expose the magical word to Muggle society? Will she receive help from Ron Weasley, the lanky but tough red head from Gryffindor? Can she count on the competitive Cho Chang from Ravenclaw or should she side with Draco Malfoy, her instant rival? And why is Severus Snape always looking out for her although he seems to hate her?

The rating: Teen, because from where I stand, I can say there will be some really dark themes, violence will happen, and there might even be some borderline smut here and there.

Pairings: Sirius/Remus, Snape/Lily and more that I can't name for now.

It might sound crazy, but for a first Harry Potter fic, after having seen a lot of stuff and being a true fan for years; I was wondering how much craziness could be shot in a single story, and after a lot of laughs and delirious exchanges of ideas with my boyfriend, I decided to go through the ordeal of writing this "parody". I'm anything but misandry, so believe me when I say that this will be written with respect. I just needed a villain different from Voldemort, although her motives are as twisted. And other villains should show up in the long run. Now, I'll let you read and decide for yourself if this is worth your time.

Harriet Potter and the Misandry League – First year

Chapter 1 – The girl who had three fathers

"Harriet Cecilia Potter!" Remus Lupin called out angrily.

She was going to drive them late.

"Just two more minutes, daddy…"

Water was splashing in the bathroom and somehow, Remus knew she was swimming around, diving back in her animagus' form. Harriet was a brilliant young witch. Sometimes, it drove her surrogate family close to madness. She could transform into a sea turtle and had taken the habit to transform at least once every day. Her baths always took an awful lot because she retired in the mind of the turtle, so she could escape from reality. Remus impatiently checked the clock that was ticking every new minutes. Sirius chuckled at the look on his lover's face.

"It's not that bad, her school things won't run away you know."

"Why again aren't you coming with us, Padfoot?"

"I have work to do, the Men Eaters won't catch themselves."

It was always the same excuses. As an Auror, Sirius had to chase the nefarious Men Eaters, a cast following in the traces of you-know-who and her never-ending quest to annihilate homosexuality and patriarchy in any of their form. Wizard or Muggle. It was already hard to protect the wizarding world's people, but the secret of magic itself was at stake since the start of this… peculiar war of ideals. It had all started fifteen years ago, when a mysterious witch tried to kill Albus Dumbledore. Ever since, Hogwarts' headmaster had been on the run and men allegedly mistreating women or being openly gay had started dying. Ministers were ambushed and subjected to either of the Unforgivable Curses. Family had been destroyed. Women were killed if they tried to defend their brothers, husbands or sons. She-who-must-no-be-named was angry at the whole world. She chased Dumbledore and many other wizards around the world. For the muggles, it was some sexist psychopath. For Remus and Sirius, it was a constant reminder that their domestic situation should remain as unknown as possible. Thankfully, you-know-who hadn't been really active in the five last years, attacking in other countries mostly, while her followers were randomly attacking people every now and then, keeping the ministry of Magic on its toes.

Despite the fact the werewolf's self-esteem was higher than usual, he was still panicked when he had to face the wizarding world. Being a werewolf was already bad in the eyes of wizard, and being gay was almost just as bad given you-know-who's actions. Going on Diagon Alley was a challenge for him. Harriet had barely ever been exposed to the wizarding world herself and he was one overly protective father.

"Sirius, I …"

Energetic thumping preceded the young teenage girl as she rushed down the stairs and excitedly started to jump around their kitchen. Her short hair was still wet from her bath and she wore blue jeans and a rock sweater. Both men looked up and while Sirius smiled, Remus held it back, knowing one of them had to be serious to ground her a little.

"Are we taking the floo this time?!" Harriet asked as she slipped one arm beneath the wolf's arm.

Harriet Potter was your typical, average young witch. She was renowned as the last living heir to the Potter family. Her father, James Potter, had died by the hand of you-know-who almost eleven years ago for reasons Remus and Sirius couldn't begin to fathom. James had never appeared the kind to conjure the-one-who-should-not-be-named's hatred. Actually, Harriet should have been in more danger living with her two godfathers. It was the main reason they stayed in a modern muggle neighborhood. Once a month, Sirius had to cast all the deafening spells he knew to prevent the people on their street to suspect Remus' true nature. Lily Evans, the family friend and Harriet's godmother also came at least once a month to deliver the Wolfsbane potion that she prepared. Harriet would learn how to make it as soon as she'd start studying at Hogwarts.

"Dearie, don't be too hard on Moony, his transformation was just a few days ago." Sirius reminded her.

She gave them a sheepish grin as Remus shrugged.

"I'm not that sore. Did you pour salt in your bath water again, Harriet?" the werewolf asked, removing a large chalk of salt from her damp hair.

"I'm a sea turtle, not a salmon!"

"My sweet turtle, you should know better than to leave salt in your hair."

"You're both avoiding my question. We're taking the bus, dad? Again?"

"You know we need to lay low Harriet." Sirius warned her.

Harriet felt tired of her recluse life. She was always on her own and both of her dads were awesome, she couldn't complain, but the magic wanted to soar in her blood. She wished she could use it all the time. In a few days, she would turn eleven and be forced to keep her magic usage to a minimum. She was one non-registered animagus and she would be watched closely by the ministry whenever she'd be out of school. Speaking of school, she couldn't wait to get there. And the first step was getting in Diagon Alley and collecting her school stuff. Remus had promised to let her into her vault in Gringotts for the second time of her life and even to let her buy a pet if she felt up to it.

"Nothing bad has happened recently. I know there has been dark times in the past, but she-who-has-no-name hasn't done anything for a while now."

She didn't miss James Potter. She was too young to remember him and even though she had a bunch of albums filled with photographs of her biological father, the young girl wasn't sure she'd wanted a different life. Remus was dotting and caring while Sirius was crazy and downright funny. She had the best fathers in the world. Whenever kids tried to make fun of her for being raised by two men, she'd stand strong and smiled at their mean words. The only real regret she carried was not knowing who her mother was. James had cut himself from his friends around the moment of her birth and had never gotten married or engaged. Magic wasn't as advanced as Muggle science and despite the extensive research both her adoptive fathers had done, this mystery had remained unsolved. To compensate being motherless, she had three fathers instead of one.

"We'll use floo next time, Harriet." Remus suggested as he checked her school list for the nth time. Sirius had gotten up from the kitchen's table and was gathering his work tools. He kissed her on the cheek and exchanged a brief kiss with the werewolf before to urge them out. The pattern was pretty usual.

Lupin had a lot more free-time than Sirius, being mostly un-employed. He had been the one nursing Harriet when she was an infant or whenever she got sick.

"You'll miss the bus at this rate. Go already, you'll bicker on the road." He cheered them.

"Good day, dad," she bid him goodbye.

They climbed on the muggle bus and sat down on their usual row, receiving a few stares. There had been talks around the town about the pair of men raising a daughter. Old-fashioned people were outraged while the authorities shut a blind eye and most of the neighbours just wanted to mind about their own problem. Harriet was quite normal and average for a witch walking among Muggles. Although her aura was attracting all kind of attention. A speck of Veela's blood was flowing in her veins and she could mesmerize both wizards and muggles. She hated that aspect of herself, not ready at all to open herself to the idea of love or boys. Or even girls if she had to realize it was her preference. Harriet cut her hair short, hoping it was taking most of the charm away. She had a pale complexion beneath a few freckles and dark hair. Her eyes were pitch black, but there was always a twinkle in her irises.

"Don't pull any stunt, young girl." Remus warned her as he observed how she was eyeing a pair of boys on the other side of the bus.

Harriet was pretty normal and average, when she didn't let her magic run wild. She had managed to set a cat on fire one day and even to have a boy dancing on his desk in the middle of class for one hour straight. Although the people around her thought it was coincidences or spur of the moment decisions, her fathers knew she was doing this.

She was the only witch around the neighborhood. Sirius and Remus had worked hard to keep her isolated. They wanted her safe even if that meant bored.

"I wouldn't try anything with a master of stunt around." She retorted.

The trio had enjoyed pulling tricks at each other for most of her life. Harmless things most of the time, but enough to have Lily rolling her eyes at their antics. Remus tried to be the sensible one, but he knew how laughing could keep someone healthy and mostly happy. He needed Harriet to be happy, after not being there for James when he needed help and protection. Wormtail's treason and James' death had left the Phoenix's Order in shambles. Dumbledore had been running all over the world, barely staying alive. Snape had vanished for two years, surely joining the dark arts while Evans raised a counter force with the Longbottom's and the Lovegood's. Lily alone had survived it, taking Neville under her wing while Luna Lovegood was sent to foreign parents back in London. So many orphans filled the world, on any side, people getting caught in the crossfires of the Men Eaters' attacks…

Noticing from his darkening features that Remus was nurturing dark thoughts, Harriet grabbed his hand and squeezed it, hoping she could remind him that the dark years were almost over. No major attack had happened in the Muggle or magical world for such a long time. She was too young to worry about it, but she was worried. Her godfathers could be the next on _her_ list and she had always prayed that nothing befall them. There was nothing unnatural about Remus and Sirius' love. She found it gross every now and then when they would go more lovey-dovey, but she mostly thought they were sweet. And she saw how happy they made each other. She would never understand homophobia.

"You think I should buy an owl? I could write to you every day." She whispered to him excitedly.

"It would have to be a bird that can't catch attention. How about a cat or…"

She almost hissed at the notion. For some reason, Harriet hated cats and all type of felines. They frightened her as a kid and she was still scared whenever she spotted one on the street.

"We'll wait until we reach the shop and check what catch your interest. As long as you remember the responsibilities that come with it."

She nodded, mimicking his serious intonation as she motioned her lips without uttering a single sound. That made him smile, although he retorted by tickling her. They almost missed their stop and hurriedly walked into Tom's pub, Harriet walking closer to Remus with the more people she saw. She was a little shy around the pub. Tom ruffled her hair and nodded to her father, offering him something to drink.

"Later maybe, Tom. We're here on school business today."

A few congratulations resounded around the pub. James Potter had been greatly loved and Harriet being his daughter, she was usually received with the same attention by the wizards following the most modern ways. The Men Eaters and their supporters on the contrary never sympathized with victims of she-who-had-no-name. It was those people that Harriet shied away from and she knew she might meet some of them on her way through Diagon Alley.

To her surprise, they met Lily Evans and Neville Longbottom after collecting Harriet's books and cauldron. Lily looked radiant as ever and smiled widely as she noticed the young girl and her father.

"Remus, Harriet, it's so good to see you both!"

"Aunt Lily!"

"Is that Neville? You've certainly grown since last time," Remus observed.

Longbottom was a lanky young man, all nerves and bones. He trained a lot in sports, wishing to be part of the Wrestomb team of his house at Hogwarts. Wrestomb was all the rage, with wizards and witches competing against each other in different tasks, from magical wrestling to spellcasting duels, from broom racing to creature taming. First year couldn't join the teams unless they were already quite trained and Neville had had all the support he needed from Lily to nurture big dreams. He was really self-conscious and a bit shy around Harriet, but the young girl never minded it. Neville had a traumatic background, with his whole family being killed only for opposing you-know-who's terrible work. He could have been a lot quieter and awkward then he was.

"Wow, did you finally put on some muscles?" Harriet teased him.

He blushed, but still managed to retort without a single stutter.

"At our age, it's not as easy as you'd think."

Harriet shrugged her shoulders. She liked watching Wrestomb competitions, but she knew turning her small frame into anything strong was preposterous. Whenever she got herself in trouble, her wits were her allies.

"Did you already got yourself a wand?" she asked Neville.

Their respective tutors were chatting together, Lily asking subtly if her latest wolfbane's potion had done the trick. Sometimes, her ingredients weren't from prime quality and she always worried about her friend's condition.

"It was perfect, as always. How about going to Ollivander together? I think those young wizards are going to burst with excitement."

They went on with their shopping as a group, getting smiles and greetings at most if not every turns. Lily Evans, though a well-known adversary of you-know-who, was literally adored by the magical community. Teaching potions at Hogwarts ever since the Men Eaters went less active, she also gave lessons to adult wizards during the summer for potion making. She had managed a few discoveries, the most renown being the vampire's bite remedy. The name was still being voted while the potion was evaluated for any hidden potencies or side effects. Lily had been hoping to find something else, evidently, but the result was still good, although vampires were rare in Britain.

Ollivander seemed flustered to meet Harriet Potter, remembering her father James quite well. The wands were tried one after the other, Neville getting chosen by a sturdy willow wand imbued with a dragon's ventricle. The choice seemed harder for Harriet. Most of the wands barely reacted to her touch and when they did, it was either raining or storming inside the boutique. After half an hour, as hope started leaving her heart, Ollivander tried a wand he'd never wished to sell. It had a phoenix's tail for its core, and alder wood that was a light brown, contrary to the darker tones of Neville's wand.

"Maybe… maybe my magic isn't made for wands as a catalyst. I've read that…"

Harriet almost refused to touch the new wand. The old man looked so reluctant to see her try it. Remus gave her a warm smile and Lily cheered her, while Neville pulled a face at her explanation.

"You're a special witch, Harriet. It would only be fitting that you'd get a special wand."

She gulped down, noticing how her breathing had slowed as she reached out for the wand.

"I don't think I can get this place any wetter," she sighed.

Ollivander didn't share her opinion, but he kept his thoughts to himself, handing her the wand.

Harriet felt something different this time. Unlike the earlier uneasiness, this wood, this wand was like an extension to her hand. It felt familiar, although it couldn't be. She waved it gently and bubbles of soap appeared in front of her, exuding a breath of salty, marine air. Her eyes teared up as if a hole, a void had just been filled in her soul.

"A wand made in foreign lands by my grand-father himself. It seems to be a perfect match, miss Potter."

"Is it normal that I feel… so connected to it?"

He nodded while Remus looked worried.

"Would you mind telling us why you were so hesitant of taking this particular wand out of its box?"

"I never intended to sell it… It's a work of art. And the phoenix that gave a feather for it… wasn't your typical phoenix. His flames were blue, the harshest, coldest flames ever seen in this world."

The familiarity of the wand suddenly felt wrong to Harriet. And the bubbles turned to snowflakes, as the whole room lost its warmth.

"Do I really need a wand?" she asked, looking up to her father.

Remus hesitated.

"It chose you." The vendor quickly said, sorry to have burdened a young girl with his doubts. "It's meant to be. A wand should be used after all. I'm glad you could find the right wand in my shop."

Ollivander still seemed shaken and Harriet promised herself to make research over blue flames phoenix. She'd never heard of it before, but it seemed to mean something more to every adult in the room. Lily tried to cheer the cold atmosphere by taking the kids to the menagerie. It worked, with owls, rats, cats and all kind of peculiar living things roaming the place, either in cages or directly on the floor. Harriet instinctively avoided the felines, wondering if any kind of bird could be normal enough for Remus' taste. Neville argued with Lily about the pros and cons of frogs and other amphibians.

"They're mostly cold-blooded. They would be high maintenance and little…"

"Oh my god, daddy, this one, do you see this one?!"

Lupin had stayed close to the doors, most animals being wary of him. He could see Harriet's back as she jumped in front of a small cage, but not the subject of her attention. He reluctantly walked up to her and blinked in surprise at the sight of the…

"A dog?"

"They say it's a dwarf wolf. He'll never grow much bigger than this."

The little tuft of red fur had bright blue eyes and a dark muzzle. He certainly didn't weight anymore than 10 pounds and was just bigger than usual puppies.

"It says that they can deliver messages just like owls. And from the ground, he would be less noticeable."

"With red fur like that?"

"But he's adorable, dad, please!"

The dwarven wolf raised itself on all four, its tail wagging at the prospect of being adopted. It gave a bark and Remus realized that this could actually piss off Sirius, while he found it quite endearing.

"You'll feed her?"

"Of cours... What do you mean her?"

"I can tell it's a female. And you'll train her too?"

Harriet couldn't help but smile.

"I swear I will, she'll be a good girl, I'm sure."

A vendor approached them with a knowing smile.

"I think this must have been love at first sight. I've never seen her so excited." She observed, talking about the small wolf.

"I hope this will be lasting love and not just a spur of the moment decision." Remus added, wanting to warn his daughter one last time.

"I'm not taking this lightly, I know it's a big responsibility, but if I can look after myself for the next year at school, I'd better be able to look after one sweet thing like her."

On the other side of the boutique, Lily was buying a ferret howl to Neville. As their vendor took the red wolf out of her cage, Remus reached one hand out to her. He wasn't sure how the animal would react to him and Harriet knew it was a big part of his decision. But the dwarf wolf didn't cower or looked away. It leaned into the touch, licking the fingers scraping its fur. Only a few creatures had been this trusting with the werewolf.

"I think it's decided then. How are you going to name her?"

"That's an hard one. I was so sure that you were a male at first." Harriet admitted, taking the cub in her arms.

Neville and Harriet played a naming game for their new pet, both denying the various ideas the other would voice. Robes were fitted for and magically sown. Soon enough, it was time to get back home and exchange their goodbyes. Harriet was somewhat reluctant to leave. Neville was one of her only friends, the Muggles in her neighborhood either avoiding her because she was the weird girl at school or because she had two dads and no mother. As she sat in the bus next to the window, she heaved a sigh, keeping her pup in her arms.

"She might be an Echo, what do you think?" she asked Lupin.

"Where did you get the idea?"

"I wanted something that didn't sound Latin."

"I have no idea what you're talking about young girl. You must be tired after all this running around… Why don't you take a nap?"

"I'm not a little girl anymore. It takes a lot more than…"

A long yawn interrupted her and Harriet felt a slight blush burning up in her cheeks. Her father simply wrapped one arm around her shoulders, refraining from gloating. Echo cuddled up to her, and she leaned her head against Lupin's chest. Soon, her eyelids felt too heavy and she fell asleep. Sirius had always joked that her werewolf's father's ability to sleep anywhere had come down on her, although it made little sense.

Just as they were reaching their town, Remus was taken aback from the scenery by a silver dog running in the air. It hadn't been there a second ago and he had been too unfocused to determine which direction it was coming from. It was a patronus, one he knew well. The apparition went through the bus and rushed into him, Sirius' voice echoing in his mind.

"There's been a major attack at the ministry. Do not come home. Keep her safe."

A sense of dread permeated his bones. This hadn't happened in years. He went through a few options as he counted the stops between them and their home. He barely had the money for one night in some cheap motel. Apparating with Harriet would surely traumatize her, despite her curiosity. She was still so young, and her dwarf wolf could panic. He wished for an untraceable mode of locomotion, but magical or not, there were few.

He waited until the bus ride was one town away to shake Harriet awake. She blinked, yawned and barely contained a yell of surprise as she realized that they'd missed their stop.

"Have you been sleeping too?"

"Sweetheart, there's a change of plan," he replied. "I need you to trust me for now."

He gave her a look they had exchanged many times before, a look that warned her about imminent dangers. Usually, it meant he was about to shift into his werewolf form or that Lily was bringing her friend Snape to dinner. Right now, it created a lump in Harriet's throat. Did something happen to Padfoot? Or the house? She nodded in understanding, stroking Echo's fur.

That night, they booked a small room at some random hotel, Remus being careful about everything he did and said. It wasn't until they were alone in their room and he'd casted a dozen protective spells that he accepted to give her details.

"I'm sure Sirius is fine." He started, sounding as calm as he could in the circumstances. "There's been a major attack and he didn't feel safe knowing we'd walk back home. We might have been compromised somehow. I've sent a patronus to a few trusted friends and we should have more information in the morning, if…"

Before that he could finish his sentence, there was a bang in the back of the room and Echo was barking angrily at the aggression, while Harriet whirled around to see a fireplace materializing in the wall.

Lupin raised his wand in defense, although he had a suspicion that their visitor didn't have any ill intentions. When green flames erupted in the fire place and let a tall but slim shadow erupt into the room, Remus lowered his wand, although he kept Harriet right next to him. The dwarf wolf paused in her barking, before to sniff the air, as if she didn't trust her instincts anymore.

"Remus, I'm sorry for barging in unannounced, but measures must be taken swiftly."

Dumbledore, Hogwarts' headmaster and currently-on-the-run venerable teacher, walked into the dim light cast by a few oil lamps, his purple robe making him look surreal. Harriet had met him once and only from afar, because the old wizard was reluctant of exposing anyone to the dangers of his company. The man had braided his long beard and was carrying his wand in his wrinkled hands, his blue eyes glinting with a smile that didn't reach his face. Being on the run tended to change people and Dumbledore looked older –an achievement considering his hundreds and a few years- and a bit dirty, twigs and leaves completing his attire. Harriet noticed he was missing a shoe but decide to keep her observation to herself.

"The attack…!"

"…was pretty serious, I must admit. She-without-a-name has targeted the prime minister of England from the Muggle world. No one managed to get to him in time and he was killed in front of the royal family and a hundred journalists."

Remus paled at the news. You-know-you was a vindictive witch, with a terrible case of homophobia and misandry. Any sign of machoism could get a man killed, not to mention that patriarchy was close to number one cause of violent magic deaths in Britain in the recent years.

"Did we manage to…"

Dumbledore shook his head approvingly.

"The secret still is, but our world was almost exposed this afternoon. She's growing more reckless than ever."

"But I thought it was over," Harriet interfered in the discussion. "She hadn't attacked anyone in the ten last years."

"Because you were better not knowing about it, dear miss Potter. She-who-must-not-be-named has been conducting a few idealist vendettas around the world. She just got back to England recently."

Remus frowned, realizing that Harriet might be too young yet to be exposed to such cold realities.

"If there's any more you want to say about you-know-who, Dumble…" he started on a protective tone.

"Of course not, Lupin. I'm here to take you somewhere safe."

Harriet was ready to protest, but Dumbledore quickly explained himself.

"Since your house has been ransacked by Men Eaters, the Order assumed that your relationship to Sirius Black has been exposed. So we'll need to separate you two for a few months to misguide our enemies."

Lupin could tell Harriet was mad by now, he was pretty much angry himself but there was nothing he could do about it. Sirius had already gone on the run and this was surely the solution he'd come up with.

"Where are we going?" The werewolf asked.

"I'll tell you as soon as we'll be there."

The fire was still green behind them and Harriet quickly gathered Echo in her arms, a dreadful feeling settling in her heart. She had said a simple goodbye to Padfoot this morning. Now it looked like she wasn't going to see him anytime soon. He might be killed out there, without her even knowing. She wanted to kick and yell and protest, but she could tell her father needed her to cooperate right now. Being mature was the sensible thing to do, although she was scared of being caged in some faraway cave and find herself home tutored by Lupin for the rest of her days. What was you-know-who's darn problem?!

To be continued…

To make things fair, I've got 15 chapters written in advance. I'm a university student and I work so much, updating can get very infrequent. Every chapter shouldn't be longer than ten to eleven pages, and the first year of school is basically entirely done. I have things planned for second year and fourth year mostly, third year too. The story might not last for the seven full years, but I'm in for a big project with this.

Let me know what you think so far and feel free to point mistake in names, locations, anything. If you don't like having a gender bend version of Harry, I'm sorry, the goal here is to change every character at least a little. I hope you had a nice time reading. See you in next chapter!


	2. Where to hide a werewolf and a turtle

I publish this chapter now because I'm conscious the action doesn't exactly start in first chapter. From now on, I'll wait for reviews for publishing new chapters. If I go through everything I've written in advance, I'm afraid my update time could get ridiculously long. I sure hope you'll like what follows. There shouldn't be OC characters in this fic, although you can guess some people are going to be OOC. Have a nice time reading.

Harriet Potter and the Misandry league – First year

Chapter 2 – Where to hide a werewolf and a turtle

Harriet discovered her new home in the morning, after a short night of tossing and turning in a bed that felt too soft, too wide and far too foreign. If it hadn't been for Echo, who had fallen into a blissful sleep, the young girl might have never closed her eyes. Dumbledore had used the floo system, but without telling any destination when he leaped into the fire place. Lupin was just as lost as her, but he kept a reassuring smile on, trusting Albus Dumbledore. After all, someone who had survived for so long while being pursued by you-know-who had to be strong and trustworthy. There had been some heated discussion about her at some point and the young girl did the only thing she could to ignore it. She transformed into her turtle form, focusing on Echo, hoping the dwarf wolf wouldn't panic. Echo seemed puzzled and then amazed. She was a very curious cub and Harriet wasn't disappointed when she proved out to be a nice bath buddy. Being a turtle animagus meant she couldn't exactly play with anyone outside of water. Echo was happy swimming and splashing in the tube, which meant Harriet could forget the outside world and her worries about Padfoot. What if he got hurt or worse…killed?!

It was no surprise that she had big dark bags beneath her eyes in the morning, almost mimicking Lupin's usual expression. Dumbledore had left after his dispute with Lupin had gotten so loud that even as a turtle, Harriet had managed to grasp a few things.

"My daughter won't be some bait to help you win the war you started, Albus."

"Harriet isn't yours and one day, this decision will be hers to make. This isn't about winning, Remus, but about protecting innocent people."

"She's not eleven years old yet!"

"Disguising her would only arose suspicion. She'll go under her real name and will be trained by our best teachers to face…"

The rest was muffled by the water in her ears when Echo pushed her under, getting impatient of seeing her unmoving. The rest was only conjecture on her part. But if her father had mentioned using her as bait, it had to be because she would be of interest to the-woman-without-name. After all, _she_ had killed James Potter and Harriet was the last Potter left alive in the wizarding world. Before that sleep claimed her, Harriet reflected if she should try to find out the truth about her father's dead. Considering no grown-up had managed to do so in the eleven last years, her chances looked slim. But she couldn't be caught unaware. Sirius and Remus had already taught her a few things about magic and facing the dark arts. No doubt, Severus Snape, Lily's almost boyfriend, and the teacher of the defense against the dark arts would put her to the test once she started school.

 _I should revise some self-defence with Neville and silent magic if I can. Better be safe than sorry._

In the morning, Harriet was surprised to discover Hogsmeade right out the window. They were situated at the back of a street, in a cottage of stones and wood. The floor creaked with every step you took, there wasn't any electricity, unlike their house in the Muggle neighborhood –not that Sirius really got around to use electricity, unlike Remus and Harriet- and their fire had to burn most of the year to keep the inside of the house warm.

"How are we safe in here?" she dared ask her father.

Harriet had thought that on her first step out of the fire place, but didn't dare to say it in front of Dumbledore. The man wasn't known as temperamental, but she had heard some rumors here and there, mostly from Padfoot, that the headmaster was subject to sudden outbursts if things didn't go his way. He had been more amiable in the past and mostly remained that way, but running from your family – he missed his sister's wedding and a lot of other things according to Sirius- didn't help his patience.

"Well, you have a lot of trust in your father's abilities to protect you." Remus teased her.

She paled slightly. The last thing she'd want was to hurt her father. She could be self-centered every now and then, she wasn't eleven yet after all, but she knew how self-doubting the werewolf could be.

"I never meant…"

"I know. We're almost neighbours with Lily and Neville by living here. And once you'll be studying at Hogwarts, you'll still be able to visit on the weekends instead of waiting for Christmas or Easter."

"It's lovely, dad, but…"

"You heard our discussion last night, didn't you?"

She gave a nod, looking down at her feet. Echo was running around the room, exploring eagerly. Harriet remembered she hadn't given her food yet and hurried herself in this task, anything to somehow fill the uneasy silence.

The kitchen was also the living room and dining room. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom and an attic that surely was dark and spooky. Harriet thought she'd like making potions in that kind of ambiance, but Lupin was clearing his throat and took her back to yesterday.

"Sirius is still alive. That's all we know for now. I can't tell you when we'll see him again, or if he'll show up before that you need to go to Hogwarts. And to talk to you about my exchange with Dumbledore, I need to know what you heard."

"He wants me to be some bait for you-know-who. And you disagreed strongly."

"Of all the things you could… Harriet, do you realize what that could mean?"

"Maybe I could learn stuff about my mother. Or I might also get killed. Although I've never done anything to go against misandry or whatever she-who-must-not-be-named is into."

"Sweet turtle bug." He sighed, saddened that she could state this so easily. But the situation didn't permit for much cuddling. Cuddling her and hiding the truth could mean her death and he wouldn't lose her like he lost James. He wrapped her in his arms and she hugged him back, realizing she just might cry if she didn't hold it in. When had she gotten this scared? In the span of the last twelve hours, really? "We'll get answers, in time. This will take some getting use to, but we're still a family. And you're still safe."

He didn't mention himself but Harriet knew she shouldn't push it. She couldn't ask for a normal life. She didn't want a normal life. But she already missed Sirius and could tell that Remus did too. She needed both of her fathers. And although her birthday was coming and with it the start of her first wizarding school year, she didn't exactly felt excited. There was one ominous cloud hanging over her head. Over every of them.

…

Words on the streets were that a new girl had just moved in town. And it was Harriet Potter, nothing less! Harriet had never lived among other wizards. And she knew that she was close to a celebrity, as James Potter's mysterious daughter. But the stares of everyone in Hogsmeade really got on her nerves. She was already stressed out. She took Echo out for a walk in the morning and in the afternoon, trying to get her bearings. Remus had accompanied her on her first look at Hogsmeade, earning blank looks that infuriated the young girl. But he had explained how he fitted in around wizards and witches. He was an outsider and that meant people wouldn't care about him. To turn heads, you had to be from a renown family or to have accomplished something amazing already. A few people remembered him when he was still a student himself, which meant he had either their sympathy or indifference. If he had been Sirius Black, it would have been different. The Black were a wealthy and pure blooded family. They were pretty much in shambles right now, with one daughter imprisoned in Azkaban by her cousin, Sirius himself, the other married to the infamous Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy was known for dealing with dark magic and he was among the targets of you-know-who, running just like Dumbledore, but for different reasons than those of the headmaster as the telltales insisted.

…

"So… Which house are you aiming for?"

"Aiming? I'll take what I get. It doesn't really matter to me." Harriet retorted.

Neville's eyes widened to the size of tea cups.

"But you're the daughter of James Potter. And if that wasn't enough," he lowered his voice to add : "both of your surrogate fathers are from Gryffindor! That's a lot of pressure. My grandmother ghost appeared last night and warned me that if I wasn't sorted in Gryffindor…!"

"You should throw salt at her. It's rude to interrupt people's dream and she's been haunting you for years."

They were walking in a field next to the village, the young girl keeping an eye on her dwarf wolf while Neville's flying ferret was roaming the sky with pure delight.

"I don't really mind it anymore. But you didn't answer my question Harriet. You must have one house you want to go to!"

She tried to focus on her steps, the wind blowing in her face, the sun that was hiding behind clouds. Her birthday had been pretty much eventless, spent with Lily, Neville and her werewolf of a father, without any new word over Sirius. They would be going to Hogwarts in less then a week now and she wasn't sure if she was ready anymore. She was looking forward to it as a diversion, but she'd rather know that Remus wouldn't be left alone in their creaking house.

"I need to learn as mush as I can. I've been trying to find some books, but the library is pretty restricted in Hogsmeade. I guess Ravenclaw might be nice, but I'm not sure…"

"But if you're not in Gryffindor, we won't see each other as much. We will have to compete for house cup and…"

Neville looked alarmed and almost missed a step.

"Who says I'll earn my house any points? I might end up in Slytherin."

If she was honest with herself, she wanted to do a lot of things. She was curious and according to History of Hogwarts, Slytherin was for the daring and the curious of heart.

"You wouldn't! You know they all turn to the dark arts."

"Isn't Snape from Slytherin?" she teased him.

Sometimes, she would go as far as saying that Snape was his "almost" father and Neville would lose all composure.

"He certainly is! And I don't like him one b..bit!"

"But aunt Lily likes him. Although I have no idea why..."

They laughed and Neville accepted to let it go. But he would still wonder until the fateful day of the sorting ceremony. Remus didn't care for the house where Harriet would go, as long as she would be safe and able to make friends like he did when he was her age. On their way back, the young teenagers were met by a dark figure that seem to be lurking among the streets. Neville squared his shoulders and Harriet thought of the few self-defence moves they had practiced during the last few days. Snape looked displeased to say the least.

"Lily has been looking everywhere for the both of you. It's getting late." The dark arts teacher explained simply before to turn around on his heels.

He expected to be followed and Neville complied, knowing what was in for him if he didn't. Snape wasn't exactly mean, but he wasn't exactly nice either. Harriet still wondered what she could have done except for being her father's daughter to inspire so much disgust. The dark haired man barely looked at her and never once talked directly to her, unless coerced to do so by Lily. The relationship of those two was weird, at least to Harriet.

Sirius had told her that as teenagers, they had turned around each other for a long time, until Severus upped and left Lily hanging. When he resurfaced, half dead, she nursed him back to health, but they remained simply friends for years, both scarred in their own ways by she-who-must-not-be-named. Severus Snape had been flirting with Lily Evans for years, but they had started a serious relationship only eight months ago. Harriet could tell it was the same kind of love that linked Remus and Sirius. But it felt a lot more gross.

Lily had organized a party to celebrate the start of school, making up a feast for the kids. The only other person invited was Dudley Dursley, Lily's nephew, who had received a letter for Hogwarts to his own parents' surprise. Neville had told Harriet to be careful around Dudley. Lily never talked about her family, entirely Muggle except for her, and it seemed that she hoped to exploit the fact Dudley was gifted with magic to renew with her family. Her sister had always been jealous of her and the very fact Petunia would let her son around his aunt or other magicians was the greatest step to healing.

Harriet was shocked to discover a fat boy with baby blue eyes and fingers like sausages. He wasn't too fat, but he'd clearly abused of everything fat and sweet. He eyed the table with hungry eyes but claimed that he was starting a diet.

"I need to prove to father that wizard's sports is as good as football. The vids you sent me were awesome." He told Lily, who couldn't help herself but smiled.

"Those weren't vids but books." Neville observed, having chosen the ones to send. "So you're aiming to join a Wrestomb team?" Neville asked excitedly.

"If I can find a spell to get faster and lose a few pounds fast enough to join the qualifications," Dudley joked.

Snape clearly held back a comment, not trusting the boy as much as Lily did. What normal 11-year-old could laugh of himself so easily?

"That's not fair!" Harriet exclaimed. "Neville trained hard the whole year."

"I'm taking pointers from him. I know the qualifications are late in October. If I'm serious, I can surely make it!"

"Only a handful of first years are drafted for the teams," Severus warned the excited boys, before to be elbowed by Lily.

"Don't you crush those children dreams. Or I'll make sure that no new Slytherins are drafted and you could use some new blood."

That lighted a fire in Severus' dark eyes, but he plastered a snarky smile on his face, which was less pale than it used to.

"We'll see about that, dear."

Harriet shook her head. The fact she already knew two of her teachers meant life would be harder for her at school. Snape would make sure to be harsher with Neville and her just to prove he wasn't making it easier for people he knew. He had promised so to her friend and she knew he would be true to his words. Not that she minded. She didn't want shortcuts or chances. She was a brilliant young girl and she would show it to everyone, with her own wits and abilities.

"You already know about the houses at Hogwarts, Dudley?" Neville asked him.

"It seems that there's so much to know. I've had my letter only in July… Is it wrong if I'm not in Gryffinden auntie?"

"Of course not, Duddy. Although it's Gryffindor." She couldn't help herself but correct him on her house. After all, she was the head of house for Gryffindor, while Snape was in charge of Slytherin, Flitwick taking care of Ravenclaw and Sprout looking after Hufflepuff. "You'll make a great wizard, no matter which house you join."

He smiled eagerly at that and Lily looked so happy, Harriet was convinced that she had to be nice to Dudley Dursley, although his name was weird and she didn't understand why he threw glances at her every now and then. Unless… She had forgotten about the Veela's blood. He had never been exposed to it in his life! And other kids at Hogwarts wouldn't either! How come she hadn't thought of it before?

…

"I need a spell! A hiding or reducing spell. To remove the Veela's charm."

Remus had rarely seen his daughter as panicked. He was slightly unfocused, thanks to a letter from a fellow werewolf. He thought his secret was safe, but it seemed a few families knew. He pushed the worries aside for the moment.

"You think we wouldn't have come up with something before if it was possible? There's only a hint of their power on you anyway."

"You didn't see how Dudley looked at me." She retorted.

"Actually, I did. I'm your father. I'm all eyes for this sort of things. And I think you got yourself an admirer."

She grimaced, which simply made Remus laugh. Dudley couldn't pose any threat to her. His magic was potent, but all the new things would make her Veela's charm seem so small and ordinary. He told her as much.

"But… But I don't want that kind of attention. If it wasn't enough that I'm a Potter, I have to be part Veela too. I mean, what kind of man even have kids with…"

"I won't hear you badmouthing your father, young girl!"

"But Dad!"

Echo barked in agreement and Lupin sighed before to glare at the cub. She lowered her ears and tail in submission, before to whine at Harriet's feet.

"Now you're playing the alpha with Echo. That's not fair. I'm just concerned about stuff I shouldn't even be concerned about!"

"Turtledove, you're stressed out about going to Hogwarts. It's perfectly normal."

But she didn't feel normal! And still, could she really throw this in his face? He was a wolf. A lone wolf, isolated from his partner, soon to be parted from her too. She was going to miss him, even if he was so close. Snape had warned her that she might not have the right to visit Hogsmeade on every weekend, Potter or not. It wasn't before third years that kids could go out of the castle's ground and only a handful of students had been residents.

"I think I just got the thing to take your mind off tomorrow."

She frowned but followed Remus to the fireplace, where he sat down. She sat in his lap, despite the fact he was close to his next shift and preferred to avoid contact at that time of the month. Echo jumped in her own lap and they ended up as a big hug of wolf and human, before that the fire came to life, revealing Sirius' face.

"Oh, I'm so jealous." He roared in a barking laugh. "Who's that dog? Have I been replaced already?"

"Padfoot!" Harriet exclaimed.

"You weren't introduced to Echo yet. She's Harriet's dwarf wolf."

Echo raised her ears and nodded, hanging her tongue, amused by the talking fire.

"There's so much I got to tell you, dad! Where have you been?" Harriet pressed him.

"A little everywhere. I missed you, baby girl. I hope you're all doing well. You weren't too hard on Remus, were you?"

"As if I could be. What have you been up to?"

"Tracking bad guys. Chasing crazed woman. I might have to arrest my other cousin if I can get proof against her. But enough about me. Are we excited to go to school?"

Harriet hesitated. She was excited deep down, but then again, she was worried.

"You don't think all the boys will be ogling because of my Veela's blood?"

"If they are, you jinx them. Jinx them anyway, that's what school years are for!"

"Sirius!" Lupin protested.

"Oh, right. No jinx. Go straight for curse, turtledove. And I sure hope you won't try to swim in the lake. The giant squid could try and eat you!"

"Squids don't live in lakes."

"And sea turtles don't take baths with bubbles and soap, but who am I to comment one's habit?" Lupin reminded her.

They shared a laugh that fixed a bit the hole that had been left in Harriet's heart on the day Sirius had vanished. But looking at his face in the flames, she couldn't help but still be worried. Standing in the flames like this, wouldn't he risk getting burn himself?

To be continued…

In next chapter, Harriet will enter Hogwarts and be sorted in her house. Please leave a review to let me know how you like or dislike the story so far. Flames aren't welcome, but criticism is always good to improve. ;)


	3. Sorted and doomed

I'd really like to know if this story is loved or not. I have a lot of chapters already written, but for now, only a few faves and view. I know that this is a risqué fic, considering that I changed everything and that Harry is a girl. And that a lot more could shock you in here. But I'd like comments. I consider that with this chapter, you have a good idea of the sound the story is aiming for. As for duration, well, I have the fourth first years pretty much outlined. I just need an incentive to keep updating until I catch up with chapter 16, which is already written. So please please, if you take the time to read and if you enjoy it, let me know with a PM or a review.

Harriet Potter and the Misandry league

Chapter 3 – Sorted and doomed

The ride to the castle had gone by in a flash. Dudley, Harriet and Neville were alone in their compartment and they were the last in the row of boats going over the lake. While Dudley marvelled at the sights of the castle, Neville was gazing at the stars and Harriet stroked the water with the palm of her hand. The lake was beautiful. Since Sirius had mentioned swimming in it, the idea had been obsessing her. Lupin had been adamant; she was not to take any risk or to go against any rules. The school might be the safest place in the world, but it didn't mean she couldn't get hurt. Or killed. She knew a few students had died. What did they expect, teaching magic to people from 11 to 17 years old in the same magic castle?

She was ushered among the other kids her age, anonymous among them. Her short hair made her look boyish and Hagrid greeted her with a "champ" that made her smile. This wouldn't last. The sorting ceremony would make sure that she had a name that would surprise everyone. At least, there would be people that might not know James Potter. It wasn't as if Potter was such an uncommon name among the Muggles. She shook her head, reminding herself that she wouldn't miss her Muggle school. She could be what she was meant to be here, a witch. But still, the knot in her stomach tightened.

Lily welcomed them in the hall, her green eyes finding Harriet almost instantly.

"Please follow me, First Years."

They were about forty kids in first years. All pointy hats and clean, new robes. Their feet shuffled behind professor Evans. She would have to name her professor Evans, not aunt Lily. That could be tough. Slips of the tongue were so common.

The doors opened on the Great Hall, where four seemingly unending tables were representing every house. Hufflepuff on one side, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor in the middle, with Slytherin on the other side. They walked between the central tables, Harriet wondering if she could spot anyone she knew. But she knew so few persons in the wizarding world when they weren't grown-ups. A platine blond girl missed a step in front of her and they almost toppled on the floor together, only to be catch by both Neville and Dudley.

"Sorry," the girl whispered.

She had round eyes and a small cute nose that gave her a permanent surprised look. Neville blushed while Harriet took back her arm, not sure if she liked the idea Dudley had helped her. He seemed thinner already, his hands a lot more normal. She wondered if he had sneaked a spell or a potion from Lily's safe room.

Soon enough, they had reached the front row and a middle-aged woman stood up from the headmistress place at the professors' table. Her hair was tied in a severe bun and she looked just as severe herself. Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress-by-interim of Hogwarts. Unless the ministry of magic decided to officially replace Dumbledore, who hadn't been around the school for the last fifteen years or so.

"Greetings to our First Years." She said simply before to motion for Lily to proceed.

Conjuring a list of names out of thin air, professor Evans called the first child. The sorting hat was waiting on the chair put on display. One by one, the excited or fearful children were called and sorted. Dudley was sorted to Hufflepuff and looked delighted. He might have been delighted by any house at this point.

Neville and Harriet exchanged a glance. They wouldn't follow Dudley if they could get into any other house. There was nothing wrong with Hufflepuff, simply put, there was very little famous about it. The platinum blond girl was named Luna Lovegood and was sent to Ravenclaw while Longbottom was sorted to Gryffindor. Harriet exchanged a raised thumb with him, happy that his grand-mother might stop haunting him. Her name was called just after Draco Malfoy, who now belonged to Slytherin. Harriet barely sat down before to hear the voice in her head.

"Interesting mix, young girl. Very interesting. You're brave, but mostly looking to prove your worth. And that ambition. I think Slytherin would be good for you."

Harriet pinched her lips. Slytherin? With head of house Snape? And that snarky boy, Malfoy was it?

"Would you prefer another house Potter?"

"I don't know. Is it truly that different, being in one house or another?"

"It doesn't have to be. And you will learn in Slytherin. Why don't you trust this old hat?"

She nodded, forgetting herself – how could she know if the talking hat could see her or not?- and the hat declared with a booming voice:

"Slytherin."

The first thing Harriet noticed was the expression on Lily's face. She looked stunned. McGonagall had to say her name for Evans to go on for the following kids. And then the silence. Deafening silence. Murmurs. James Potter had been a Gryffindor. His entire family too. And now his daughter, the mysterious Harriet was turning her back on his heritage. She walked to the Slytherin table, eying Snape despite her better judgement. The man was… glaring at her? She blinked and looked away, not realizing that she had mistook his own surprise for hatred. Snape had still trouble expressing emotions, not that everyone knew except from Lily.

Malfoy clapped with the other Slytherins.

"Sit here, Potter. That's a good change, that you'd join us."

She sat next to him, but didn't like his tone. She started filling her plate, trying not to picture Sirius' reaction. Would her fathers think she was rebelling? This wasn't what this was about. She wanted to prove a point here, that she wasn't only a Potter. James Potter hadn't been in her life, not that she could remember and he didn't define her.

"Are you ignoring me, Potter?"

Damn that boy.

"The name's Harriet." She replied.

"Fine, Harriet. I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

"Your father is still alive?"

Draco blanched and a few fellow students snickered.

"Is that concern or mockery?" he asked, his voice colder.

"I'm serious, Draco. I've heard he was running and since things are looking bad, I was wondering. You should worry about what really matters instead of acting proud like a peacock."

She hadn't meant to be this cold, hadn't realize just how far she was going with this line of thought. But her own father was out there, maybe in danger right now. She couldn't understand how someone living in a similar situation could just go over it and prance around.

"You're pretty down to earth for a girl," observed a brown haired teenager. "You might think about joining the Wrestomb team."

"With my size?" She laughed and it seemed that she was welcomed for now, although Draco was eying her with contempt.

She wasn't sure if she should apologize, but focused on the food for the moment. When the feast was over, the prefect in chef walked up to the first years and ushered them toward the dungeons. There were two other girls sharing her dorms, Pansy Parkinson, who clearly wasn't impressed with the way she treated her hair, the other one looking so green in the face, Harriet was worried she could collapse at any moment.

Not feeling ready to sleep, Harriet walked back into the common room, already wondering if she'd made the right decision. There was no window, only a large fire place and stones alcoves to study if you didn't sit in the futons. People were telling each other about their summer while Draco talked to the two other first years of their house, Crabe and Goyle. It was when she spotted the books lined up in shelves on the entrance wall that she felt her spirit lifting up. She went to study the shelves and noticed a book about magical creatures that wasn't among Remus' extensive collection.

She sat right on the floor, immersing herself in the book, just to be interrupted ten pages later.

"You're not already studying, are you, Harriiiiet?"

Draco took a plaintive voice, clearly aiming to annoy her. She decided to settle for ignoring him. If she had wanted to apologize earlier, he wasn't helping his cause. There was a name among this, written in purple, _epipholia subtilia_ … She couldn't focus since Malfoy insisted:

"Seems she is. She might have been better off in Ravenclaw."

"Not an hour ago, you were happy I joined the Slytherins. You should make up your mind. Or I'll have to determine you're just trying to get my attention."

It might be about the Veela's blood. But she didn't want to think about this. Her hair was too short to look pretty. She didn't want to be pretty.

"You must be deluded."

Goyle screw his brows, trying to remember the meaning of deluded.

"I'm trying to read here."

And she wouldn't go trap herself in her dorm just to make him happy. It would be conceding him the territory or something and she couldn't start her first year by letting some bossy kid step all over her.

"I have a piece of advice for you, Potter. Just because your father died doesn't mean you can do as if everyone else is luckier than you." He added on a lowered voice before to walk away.

That hit right on the spot, especially since Harriet had vowed to detach herself from her birth father a few minutes ago. If Remus and Sirius knew, they would be ashamed, because they had so much respect and love for James. But she couldn't love what she didn't know. The pictures never included her. The pictures never showed her the truth she wanted to see. There had been a secret, if not a hundred secrets about her real family. She kept her head down, the words on the pages barely visible. She wasn't sad about James Potter's death. She was merely one-year-old back then. She couldn't remember anything but the pictures. She almost hated him for dying. Especially if there was no reason for dying. She should have hated she-without-a-name, but James had a name to hurl bad thoughts at. James was buried and couldn't be hurt by her hate. James was gone and had left her behind with a name that turned heads and Veela's blood but no mother. She waited a full hour before to get up, keeping the book, since she had barely gotten through a chapter. Malfoy smirked at her retreat, thinking he had won their little altercations.

He had no idea who he was going against.

…

"Miss Potter." Snape asked at roll call.

Of course, they had to start with a class of defense against the dark arts! Harriet had started answering for her name when Malfoy declared:

"She only answers to Harriet, professor."

There were a few laughs, but surely not as much as Draco had wanted, and Snape eyed the blond boy with indifferent eyes.

"5 points from Slytherin for disturbing class, Malfoy."

This caused a lot more reaction than the boy's remark. The class was with every first years, so people from each house were there and everyone knew that Snape almost never removed points from his house. Harriet herself was surprised. With a single glare from the teacher, the silence fell back and once roll call was over, Severus let his thin lips form a smile.

"As some of you may know, defense against the dark arts is something that cannot be learned. It must be experienced. The first chapter of your book goes over shielding spells and trap detection. I highly suggest not to fall behind in this class. Because the castle will be filled with traps befitting of your lessons to test your skills."

A hand rose among the students, which Snape ignored as he went on about the trap detection spell.

"Professor Snape, you can't be setting traps among the schools for every years of student following your class."

"Oh but I am, miss Granger. Although the traps are supposed to detect your age and go according to your lessons. Our headmistress wouldn't want any of you dead."

He said that with such a straight face that Harriet felt cold shivers running through her spine.

"Is that even legal?" Hermione insisted.

"Since magicians all over the globe are facing dark magic and death on a daily basis, I would say that such a training won't be enough to prepare you for what's coming. If you interrupt me one more time, I'll take 15 points from Ravenclaw instead of five."

Granger looked angry but kept her hand and her voice down. Harriet focused on the lesson, wondering if the practical work Snape was orchestrating wasn't his way of paying back the former students that had once made his life hell. Remus had given excuses to Snape on more than one occasion for a particular prank, although Sirius denied ever being involved in it and although Snape kept muttering that he didn't care for excuses. The last thing Severus taught them as they left was that if they detected a trap correctly, it didn't mean the trap turned ineffective. It was simply known. She had put a single foot outside the class, following the rest of the class, when the first incident occurred. A red haired boy, thin and lanky but somewhat muscular seemed to trip on his own feet and face-planted. It was when he tried to get back up that thing got complicated. He was glued to the floor.

"Damn, that was fast!" he growled.

"But if we get stuck, how do we get out? He taught us shield and detection only." Goyle observed worriedly.

"Let me do it," Granger intervened, walking up to Ron Weasley.

She had curly brown hair and dark eyes. If it wasn't for her teeth that were a bit too far in the front, she would be a perfect beauty. She pointed her wand at Ron and tore him off the floor with a smacking sound.

"Did you just do silent magic?" Neville marvelled.

"Of course not. You just didn't listen carefully enough," she retorted cheekily.

Somehow, Harriet felt something close to pure wrath bursting in her heart. How dare she talk to her friend like that? _Who_ was that girl? Snape walked out the classroom and noticed the commotion, clearing his throat before observing coldly:

"Freeing yourself from traps is in Friday's lesson. You should check next chapter and practice the spells in case you're as unlucky as Weasley."

He would have walked away if Granger hadn't called after him:

"Professor, I've already learned it and mastered the spell. I'm the one who freed Weasley."

"Really? And you did it in hope I'd give you points? Consider your homework done, Granger."

He wasn't exactly mocking, but his dark eyes were glowing with a menacing light. Snape didn't like Granger either. With a flick of his cape, he turned away, leaving the shocked students behind him.

"I'll show that pretentious teacher," Hermione muttered.

She stormed off, only to be hurled to the ceiling after three steps, yelling madly. No one laughed, eyeing the floor cautiously. Even Malfoy looked pale now.

"He wasn't joking around." Neville sighed.

"At least, the traps are pretty much inoffensive for now." Harriet tried to cheer him.

"Inoffensive? I almost broke my nose," Ronald remarked.

"What do you think will happen when we're third years?" she retorted. "Flower's petals raining over your head? We'll be fighting dragons before we know it."

Ron raised one brow, a smirk growing on his face.

"Hey, your friend got some bite, Nev."

She noticed that his canines were really sharp. Almost too big for his mouth. That wasn't strange at all, or was it? A few of their classmates ventured after Snape, only to be caught in traps too, one being swallowed by a wall while most were simply glued to the walls or ceiling.

Harriet sat down on the spot and took out her book. She was going to be late to her botanic class, but she needed to learn the undoing spell first to make sure she got there in the first place. Neville did the same, while Ron complained that it would take too long.

"I'll see how far I can get if I go by instinct!"

He ran past Hermione, laughing at her as she tried to pry her wand from the space between the ceiling and her body to wave it in the right way.

"You're friend with the hot headed guy?"

"Ron is aiming for the Wrestomb team. And he's pretty cool. You should have seen how many chocofrogs he could hold in his mou…"

She scrunched her nose, a vivid picture in her head where the frogs were moving and... Gross!

"That's… impressive. I guess."

The spell sounded hard and since they didn't have a spell lessons yet, she was wondering if Snape wasn't pushing them a little.

"I barely managed a shield when we practiced in class." Neville sighed.

"We just have to put our mind to it. Do you understand the move?"

They worked it out together and managed a decent version of the spell on Granger, Neville begging her to rescue the other students before that they move to their new class. By the end of the day, every student could be seen, walking warily and casting spells every two minutes. Some got light headed, but the detection spell wasn't taxing when done effectively and by the second day, Harriet had pretty much mastered it. She could pinpoint the traps, more or less precisely and she wasn't thrown in a wall before that Goyle himself pushed her into it, at Malfoy's request.

"I think it must be experienced first hand to be learned." He told her, using Snape's words.

"What the hell, Malfoy!"

Her shoulder was sore and her left cheek scratched.

"You think you can evade every trap? How are we supposed to see a difference if another student put a trap somewhere?"

She didn't know if it was a threat or Malfoy being dramatic. He could jump from one thing to the next at a moment notice.

"The castle itself cannot be enchanted by students." She told him. "And you'd better not attack me like that again." She warned Goyle. "You're not helping Draco, getting yourself in trouble in his stead."

"Listen to that goody-two-shoes. You really don't belong in Slytherins."

"You think so?"

"I'll prove it to you, Harriiiet."

The week wasn't done and she was officially enemy with Malfoy.

"We'll see, Draco."

To be continued…


	4. The Wrestomb trials

Here comes a new chapter. As you know, a lot of them, 22 right now, are already written. The pace of the updates only depends on the fact people review or not. Please, if you like the story, please leave a review. ;)

Harriet Potter and the Misandry league

Chapter 4 – Wrestomb trials

The first class of transfiguration had been high in Harriet's expectations. Being an animagus at such a young age, she thought transfiguring anything should be easy for her. So far, she wasn't half bad in defense against the dark arts, botanic clearly wasn't her strength, spellcasting was challenging but greatly rewarding and she managed to stay up during history of magic, which was more than even Malfoy could achieve. But McGonagall was clearly waiting for her.

"Transfiguration is a delicate art. For your first try at it, we'll turn a tea cup into a die."

The exercise seemed pointless, but Harriet heard Granger mentioning how easier it was to transfigure small things. McGonagall explained the principle of transfiguration, showed them the wand movement and had them repeat the wave of the wrist and complicated finger motion before to have them reciting the word with an exact pronunciation. When time finally came to practice, Harriet was impatient to see the result. She could already picture a porcelain die, with shiny numbers and a lot more than six faces. The transfiguration seemed to go nicely, she had followed the movement and every indication, but to her own shock, a white fish replaced the tea cup. A breathing, gasping fish.

"I need water!" she asked, afraid the fish could die. That caught the classroom's attention. Granger scrunched her nose, her die all glittery and perfect in front of her. Harriet didn't realise what was going on, grabbing a vase and throwing the spell Flitwick taught them the very morning, aguamenti, carefully placing the fish in the vase.

"What are you doing, miss Potter?"

"I…"

She finally noticed that everyone's attention was on her.

"It seems my spell had… unexpected effects?" She tried, feeling her ears burning up as her white fish swam in his vase.

"We weren't supposed to turn objects into living creature, but since miss Potter jumped to this subject, we'll have a crash course. Can you tell me if your fish is really alive, miss Potter?"

She looked down at the fish, who blinked back at her. It had been a teacup a moment earlier, but she couldn't deny how lively he looked. Granger's hand shot up in the air, almost hitting Neville's nose, who had been forced to take the place next to her.

"A lifeless object cannot turn into a living creature. This fish for example couldn't be considered alive or dead. Magic gave him temporary life."

"Perfectly said, Granger. 5 points for Ravenclaw. But the question was for you, miss Potter."

"I don't know what happened professor McGonagall."

"Let's try this another time, Potter. This cannot be considered like a total failure. Your teacup did change at least."

The sarcasm beneath her words might be aimed at the other students who hadn't manage to transform their teacup in anything, but Harriet still felt humiliated. McGonagall reverted her fish in a teacup, Harriet retrieved it from the vase and tried another time, with the entire class watching. The result was somewhat different, since her fish had die's patterns on its white skin, but McGonagall didn't seem please.

"I wouldn't consider this progress, miss Potter. Transfiguration might not be for you. Not that I expected it to be."

Harriet raised her eyes to the teacher, wounded by the harshness of her tone. Her ears were crimson and she hoped McGonagall would let her practice in peace, but the rest of the class was pretty much the same. The transfiguration teacher walked among the students, commenting their pronunciation or their wand waving, correcting a pause or a syllable, but all she offered Harriet was an exasperated look.

"A frog, miss Potter, really?" And later on: "Can I see fins on that die?"

Harriet had no idea why Minerva was so determined to make her look incompetent, despite the fact Dean Thomas had changed his teacup in a flashlight at least twice already. She kept her head high, feeling the ushered laughs in her back and the stares of every student on her work. Her last attempt was so close, she could have cried from relief, but McGonagall snatched her die, observing it like a contagious disease.

"Scales, miss Potter. It sounds like an obsession. Or maybe is that wand defective. Weasley's wand is half broken and he still got better results."

Harriet was pretty sure that her wand worked just fine. Otherwise, she would have trouble in every class. The class ended and she was about to walk out when McGonagall called her name. She shuffled back toward the teacher's desk, fighting against the hot tears that threatened to fall.

"I know this wasn't a very good first lesson," she started, but the professor dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"I just wanted to warn you, miss Potter. You might think that I was hard on you, but transfiguration is an art that can unravel its user if done carelessly. I know that you tried magic as you grew up, without a wand and sometimes without supervision. There's a big difference between instinctive magic and what we do in a classroom. You might be an amazing witch in the making. But you have a long way to go."

Harriet wanted to remind her that she was in her first year. That this had been her first class ever in transfiguration. She wanted to change into a turtle in front of her, to hide in her shell and show her just what she was capable of already. But instead, she gave a nod and turned back. Her bag had never felt heavier on her shoulder and her throat was constricted by a mix of helplessness and anger. If this was supposed to comfort her, it hadn't worked. Just as she was crossing the threshold, McGonagall mumbled something about James Potter. Her voice was cold, colder than before and Harriet almost broke into a run right there. Neville caught her before she could take more than two steps, looking sympathetic and sorry for her.

"She really went too far." He told her. "And you shouldn't run in the hallways. There are still traps everywhere." He reminded her.

"I can't help the idea that her classroom is a trap."

Neville agreed and tried to cheer her up. They would have their first potion lesson after diner. Lily would certainly manage to put a smile on their face. Harriet swallowed down her angry tears, vowing to wait until she would be hidden by the curtains of her bed to let it all go. She didn't even think she would be able to talk about what had happened in transfiguration with Remus if she visited on the first weekend. Malfoy teased her about the fish incident, but she wouldn't break down even if the whole school was mocking her. Not on the first week at least.

Potions proved challenging, but in a good way. Being used to cook with Remus, Harriet was good at preparing the ingredients. Malfoy was surprisingly good and Dudley, who had go unnoticed until now, proved to be amazingly gifted.

"Did you really follow the instructions?" Neville wondered.

"I might have mixed a few things up. I'm never really good at reading recipes." The chubby boy replied.

He had lost a considerable amount of weight, but was still rounder than most students. Someone had told him that pounds made a difference in Wrestomb battles, and Dudley was aiming for a balanced weight until he could put on some muscles and bulk. He had mentioned boxing once or twice and Harriet wondered if he could be aggressive enough to box. He seemed so soft and easy-going. Unless he was staring at her when he thought she didn't know. It still felt just as creepy.

The last new class was on Thursday and involved professor Quirrell, a man who had traveled a lot around the world and collected a lengthy collection of supernatural creatures. Taking over the previous teacher, the tall bald man taught everything there was to know about mystic creatures.

"For today, I'd like to hear from you, students." Quirrell started. "Which creatures interest you the most? Do you have a pet or some magical animals back home?"

Dean Thomas was really eager for this class and Neville proudly talked about his ferret owl. Ron looked slightly bored, if not edgy. He kept on biting the back on his wand, and Harriet was fascinated by his large canines, which made the wood twitch. Weasley couldn't be entirely human, she was sure of it. But what was he? He looked so comfortable, always collapsing on his chair, never standing at his full height, sitting or standing up. After going over everyone in the class and promising Malfoy that snakes were in their cursus, Quirrell offered a few questions.

"Can someone tell me what is this flower?" he asked, raising a small, purple and blue flower.

Ron froze and his wand snapped, making everyone jump.

"Weasley? You know of this flower?"

Harriet also knew what it was, but she wasn't as white as Ron. Granger raised her hand, but Ron answered, his voice sounding hoarse:

"Wolf's bane. It's poisonous to werewolves. Or so I heard." He quickly added, looking Quirrell squarely in the eyes.

They seemed to be locked in a staring contest for a few seconds, before that their teacher stored the plant in his large sleeve.

"Poisonous to birth werewolves, professor Quirrel."

"Very accurate, miss Granger. 5 points for Gryffindor and 5 points for Ravenclaw. Since we're talking of birth werewolves, can anyone tell me the difference between them and the other werewolves?"

Harriet rose her hand, hoping she could answer a question before that Hermione did. That girl was a walking encyclopedia. She had managed the feat of reading every book in their year's cursus already and was often found in the library.

"Birth werewolves were born from werewolves and control the transformation. The other werewolves were bitten at some point during their life and can't control the transformation unless they use Wolfbane potion."

"Thank you miss Potter, that was very good. 5 points for Slytherin. Now, werewolves aren't a subject we usually cover in first year, so we'll have to settle for smaller, less ferocious creature for now."

"What about Veelas professor?"

Harriet was surprised that someone mentioned it. And Malfoy?

"Oh, that's pretty exotic, mister Malfoy. Veelas are…"

Quirrell's brown eyes found Harriet as he said the word _Veelas_ and she looked away, her cheeks heating up. She didn't want attention; why couldn't she go through at least one day without being in the spotlight?

"Their race hasn't been that much studied yet. We know they're a symbol of Bulgary and might be related to harpies or sirens. They're mesmerizingly beautiful and can bewitch any unsuspecting man with their beauty. Many creatures work with the same pattern, hiding their real appearance behind the traits of a beautiful woman. Can anyone give me an example?"

"Lamias!" Hermione replied before that anyone could think of an answer.

"Exactly. In general, they aim for protection, riches or food. But we're still getting farther from the subject I wanted to breech today. For the first month, we'll be studying XX creatures. Can anyone tell me what the X classification means?"

The lesson went on, but Harriet was puzzled by what Quirrell had said. Protection, riches, she could understand. Food? Veela didn't eat human, did they? That make her think of the Men Eaters. And how Sirius was hunting them, while Remus was looking for work around Hogsmeade. The first week of school went by in a flash. She got better at noticing traps and even freed professor Flitwick from one. McGonagall didn't soften one bit and her transfigurations were all still somehow related to amphibians and fishes. She began to dread those classes, while potion was easier, although Lily sometimes slipped up and called her Harriet instead of miss Potter, which earn Harriet a few mockeries or jealousy. Dudley kept improving, pretending to be lucky when he brewed to perfection, amazing even professor Evans.

Harriet couldn't visit her father, since the full moon was on the weekend and she had to stay at Hogwarts, which meant she could finally take her revenge on Malfoy in true Marauders' style. She hadn't been raised by Sirius and Remus to be picked on without doing anything in return. On Sunday, Draco showed up in their house's room, his hair dripping wet, covered in black goo from head to toe. Harriet laughed with everyone else, trying hard not to let it show that she might be responsible. But Malfoy wasn't stupid and glared at her more than at anyone else. It got even better when Snape chided him for dirtying the common room and the boy's showers when he should have used a cleaning spell. Snape also warned that once the prankster was found, he or she would be in detention for a whole week.

He eyed her with suspicions, which was pretty unnerving. She gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes, hoping he would dismiss his doubts about her. The following week was as difficult as the first. Harriet was bitten by some plant and twisted her ankle in a trap. She learned a few healing spell from Pomfrey and missed only her transfiguration class, which was suspicious as Neville warned her, although she practiced every night to make up for it. Even on her own, her attempts at transfiguration were like walking with a crutch. Tentative and failing a bit too often.

Malfoy tried to get back at her, but she detected Snape's and his traps alike, which meant she could just walk away unscathed. They wouldn't learn a magic unraveling spell before third year, which meant a few traps were disarmed every now and then, which left traps from students the only one threatening people. A few detentions were given, but Harriet was careful, having learned that magic could be retraced. Which meant Snape knew she had pranked Malfoy. She kept her head down and was thoroughly humiliated in every transfiguration classes. At this rate, if she didn't try to hex McGonagall before the end of the year, Harriet could be canonised and sanctified. According to her at least.

On the second weekend, Echo brought her a letter from Remus, mentioning that he had found work and couldn't be home, which meant they couldn't see each other until the end of the month. Harriet focused on her studies, since the first exams were already looming over the students. By the end of September, the Wrestomb's applications had been done and McGonagall stood in the Great Hall, calling the new applicants.

"For Hufflepuff, Lavande Brown, Dudley Dursley, and Ernie Macmillan."

Cheers followed the announcement, before that the headmistress moved on to Ravenclaw:

"Cho Chang, Hermione Granger."

Cheers and a few booing could be heard, since Granger had made a few enemies in the first years. She had stopped freeing the trapped students, pretending that if they were stupid enough to be caught in trap, they belonged there. One boy had remained stuck on a wall for a full day, almost ending up dehydrated, after Granger threw an invisibility spell on him. She had lost a few house points, but there hadn't been detention for her, which seemed unfair even to Harriet.

"For Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Ronald Weasley."

The cheers were literal roars, as the Weasley sisters were acclaiming their brother, almost howling in approval. Georgia and Frederique Weasley were twins, a year older than Ronald, while Persephone, a prefect also in Gryffindor and four years older than Ron, was clapping with dignity.

Ronald was considered as mightily strong and Wood, the Gryffindor's captain, was clearly keen on recruiting him.

"And for SLYTHERIN…" McGonagall said over the cheering, bringing back the silence. "Draco Malfoy and… Dear god! Harriet Potter."

Harriet could have jump on her feet if Draco hadn't clapped her shoulder, clearly expecting to hear her name. She hadn't applied for Wrestomb. Surely this was a… Draco's smile told another story and she understood. Since he couldn't trap her with magic, he would force her into the Wrestomb's entrance trials. That would be a good way to humiliate her.

"Well well, it seems we'll be competing for a place in the team," Malfoy commented while their classmates congratulate them both for applying.

"If you both prove worth it; I might take both of you. We need fresh blood. Huh, I meant, new blood." The captain told them.

Harriet sighed, making her best to keep a straight face. One look at the professor table was enough to see what Lily and Severus thought. Lily was talking with her boyfriend, both of them clearly upset, but surely for different reasons. If Harriet had been closer, she'd be surprised by their argument.

"Are you worried about her, Sev?" Lily asked playfully.

"I simply stated that she's too small and young for this kind of sport."

"I think Harriet would be a great asset to any team. She's learning a lot from you, isn't she?"

Snape pulled a face, before to nod in defeat.

"She's promising. Although she'd better quiet down and stop fueling Malfoy's grudge on her."

"Oh, to be young and in love again…"

"This is not love." He protested a bit too vehemently. He felt pretty protective of the girl, despite all his efforts to hate her, like he hated her father. "Malfoy wants to make her life miserable because he feels like crap."

"That somehow sounds familiar to me." The potion master teased him.

"She's still a child, Lily."

That was enough to elicit a bright smile on her face, as she nodded and squeezed his hand under the table.

"Sometimes, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to be her father."

"Lord save me!" was his only answer, although the quick glance McGonagall gave him over Quirrell's shoulders wasn't missed on his part. Severus' face darkened and he looked back to Harriet Potter, who was picking at her food by now. Wrestomb wouldn't get her killed, but it would give other people occasions to try.

…

Harriet barely managed to exchange two letters with Remus before the Wrestomb trials, on Halloween's eve. She had been honest with him, explaining that she'd never put her own name or application. Remus sounded encouraging, although she could imagine how worried he was. He had suggested that she resigned from the competition, but Harriet was too proud to even consider. He promised to be in the tribunes so he could watch her and somehow, Harriet didn't know if the idea comforted her or not. Failing in front of one of her fathers wasn't really appealing. She had tried training, before to decide training would come afterwards, if she made it on the team.

She was really behind in transfiguration and couldn't let herself get any worse, since her first exam was right before the qualifications. She had been so nervous, she managed one transfiguration right and then filled the class with bubbles of soap and various amphibians before that McGonagall gave her a detention and called the class off. Her detention was Saturday night, or well, Halloween's night, under the supervision of one pissed off Snape. The headmistress herself couldn't miss the banquet and the potential turmoil that came with it.

Neville walked her through the trial program one last time, just as nervous as her.

"First we go through the obstacle course. Brooms first, we run in the second part and we must ride some mystery creature in the third part. There's a fourth part but I couldn't get grand-mother to spy on the jury for me."

"I told you to find a way to banish her already."

"It's pretty useful to keep a ghost in the family. She gave that lemon pie recipe to Lily."

That lemon pie was delicious and the best argument he had to keep his grand-mother although she _was_ haunting him.

"Okay, mysterious end locomotion. What's next?"

"Magic wrestling. Only silent magic can be used and no wand."

"We don't learn wandless magic before third year," she sighed.

"Then there's the duel phase. We'll compete until only two wizards or witches reach finals, just as the wrestling."

"You think Malfoy realize that he can't hex me since we're in the same house?" she mused.

"If you want to hex him, accidents happen. You could turn his ears into fishes."

The joke had a sour taste in Harriet's ears and Neville quickly realized his mistake. Her transfiguration exam was still too fresh and sore a memory to make her laugh.

"After the duel comes the tough part. The beasts' taming to steal a key from the Whomping willow."

Harriet felt her throat tightening. Were they seriously going to get through this entire program in a single day? Hagrid watched over the students, followed by his red dog, which barked at Ron Weasley more than anyone.

"Come on Bella, I know what you mean, I'll be careful," Ron whispered to her.

"You know that…giant's dog?" Dudley asked.

"Don't say giant," Luna warned him. "It's a tall person if you're polite."

Dudley ignored her, insisting as Neville caught up to them, closely followed by Harriet.

"Of course I know Bella," Ron retorted before to realize he wasn't exactly making sense. "I mean… Hagrid's dog. I'm good with dogs."

"I don't get it. Do you hang around Hagrid's house?" Harriet asked him.

"Sometimes. On the weekends." He said evasively, his eyes asserting their surroundings. He was edgy again.

"Oh, so that's where you'd gone to the other weekend!"

Harriet remembered that last weekend was a full moon and made a mental note to question her father as soon as she'd see him in person. Before that she could wonder anymore, two whirlwind of red hair engulfed them, Georgia grabbing Ron into a bear hug while Freddie was looking over the rest of his friends.

"We can't wait to see how you'll fare in the trials, guys. I must say, Gryffindor is assured to win those prems, with bro on the team."

"Oh come on, he's strong, but…!"

Neville was interrupted by Georgia bursting a fire cracker above their heads.

"It's for good luck. Not that you need it Ron. But we need to be extra supportive since mom couldn't make it today."

"Gees sis, you're both embarrassing me!" Ron protested as Freddie had engulfed him in her own arms, ruffling his unruly hair.

Both girls had pale skin and freckles that fitted their fire red curls. Harriet was still trying to find a way to tell them apart when McGonagall's voice rang over the field. People were gathering in the tribunes and the few applicants were standing on the grass, punching the air or waving their wands in last minute practice.

"Teachers, gather your pupils," she ordered.

The twins gave them one last wave before to run back to the tribunes. Luna went back to the tribune while Dudley joined the other Hufflepuff's contestants. Harriet didn't have to look far to find Snape, eying her with a dark expression. She wondered when she'd last seen him looking happy, or not frowning. Malfoy wished her luck, adding under his breathe:

"You'll need it."

Harriet's blood was fired up by that nth jab at her moral. She was going to give it her all.

"Potter, Malfoy, take these. Each contestant can use an energizing potion at any time during the competition. You only have one of them, so determine the time to use it wisely." Snape explained in a monotone voice.

Harriet noticed that Hermione was storing her own potion in a pocket of her robe. That girl was going to run wearing robes? Harriet had ordered a pair of knickers and was wearing a loose shirt, following Neville's suggestions. This was a sport competition after all. Her wand was in a holster on her tight and she was wearing running shoes that made her feel as if she was back to Muggle time and some gym competition. She hated gym and physical exercises. Fortunately, most of the applicants were first years and weren't that much taller, making her hopeful that she could get trough this without too much humiliation.

"Contestants, get set." McGonagall beckoned them.

That was it. Harriet took place in front of the brooms reserved for the Slytherin. Her broom class seemed far, but she had played with a toy broom when she was a baby and doubted she could forget it. It was like riding a bicycle. She wondered how many wizards had tried riding bicycles. Remus knew, but Sirius had declared he wouldn't ride anything without a motor or magic enhancement. She looked up to the tribune, noticing the grey streaks in Remus' brown hair. He smiled at her his reassuring smile and Harriet looked back to the broom and the obstacle course. Large rings were floating in the sky, color-based on their respective house and wearing their initials to make sure each student would follow the right course. Taking someone else's ring would get you disqualified from the race.

But Harriet had made up her mind and wasn't ready to be disqualified. She was going to give it her best and show that McGonagall what she could do. Showing Malfoy off would be a bonus too, but she simply hoped to get more points then him to make it clear he shouldn't have put her application in there.

"In 3…2…1… Go!"

To be continued…

So the title wasn't exactly appropriate I guess. But then again… I wanted to get to the trials faster. Please review!


	5. A speck of poison

I'm sorry for the cliffhanger from last chapter. Here's the conclusion to the wrestomb competition, and well, the competition in itself!

Harriet Potter and the Misandry League

Chapter 5 – A speck of poison

Kicking up and flying into the air was grand and marvellous. But focusing on the ring she was supposed to fly through with a dozen people rushing around her like gross giant bugs was something else. Harriet had to make a loop, almost losing her hold on her broom, before she managed to reach her first ring. She saw that Granger was still on the ground, angrily calling her broom up. At least, there was something that know-it-all wasn't good at. Then she realized Malfoy was zooming forward and rushed to keep up. Although she was competing mostly with the other houses, her real competitor was Malfoy. If he made more points than her, he would be on the team. There was one vacant spot, which meant Fletcher had to take someone new to complete the team. But if the second one was too far behind, the Slytherins wouldn't even consider it as a replacement.

Harriet didn't exactly want to make it on the team. But she was a competitive girl and she wouldn't lose to Malfoy if she could help it.

She let her instinct take over, despite she'd rather be in the water than the air. She flew, the wind toying with her short locks. She had to screw her eyes to keep sight of her rings. Turn slightly right. Go up and high before to plunge deep. There weren't obstacles in this part of the race. When she reached the final ring, she realized she had to land and felt a little light-headed as her feet touched the ground.

"Cho Chang has taken the lead, but I've heard that Longbottom is one incredible runner. Chang'd better be fast to keep her head start." Lee Jordan commented.

Harriet had to focus on the task at hand. She took out of her wand, running on the track, noticing Weasley face-planting, which confirmed that the tracks could be trapped. And just as she cast her first detection spell, she saw a dozen of them. She zigzagged through them, casting another spell. She wasn't exactly fast, but she couldn't use up all of her energy right now. After half a mile of running, she felt something hitting her square in the shoulder and tumbled before to catch her stance. Malfoy had pushed her to get ahead to the stalls that signaled the third step of the race. She sprinted, only to discover that Malfoy was already choosing his ride, a giant snake with three heads.

Slytherin had two creatures to chose from and the first there was granted dibs on whatever he fancied more. Harriet was ready to bet that Draco could speak Parseltongue.

"Have fun Potter!"

Her eyes discovered her steed. A tall, monstrous spider was towering above her. She carefully opened the stall door, hearing Lee Jordan commenting:

"Weasley seems to not get along with his griffin. Longbottom is doing a lot better with the eagle he chose. And Potter is still hesitating in front of her nightmare on eight legs."

"Jordan! You don't need to sound dramatic!" McGonagall complained.

Harriet gulped, her eyes meeting the eight eyes on the spider.

"Well, hello there." She muttered, not knowing where to start.

"Hello." The spider answered.

"You can talk?!"

"Hagrid taught me."

"Oh… Would you please take me to the next step of this race?" she asked, hoping it could work.

"What's in it for me?"

Harriet immediately chided herself for not taking any sweets with her.

"What would you like?"

The eyes stared at her intensely.

"I think a speck of blood will do."

That gave a shiver to the young girl, but she accepted. She had already lost enough time, although she didn't see how she could tame a giant spider without knowing anything about those creatures. _Acromentula_ , she thought. _I've read about them somewhere._

"I'll gave it to you as soon as we're on the other side of the race."

The spider agreed and bent her legs so that Harriet could climb and sit on her back.

"Hold tightly on my hairs. Don't be afraid to pull. My bite might hurt you anyway."

It wasn't comforting her one bit, but when the acromentula took off, Harriet realized it might have been a good thing she took that ride. The giant snake had stopped in the middle of the track, its three heads bickering while Malfoy hissed for him to go on. Her spider almost flied through the field. The air was hitting her face as strongly as when she was flying.

"That acromantula is going so fast!" Jordan marvelled.

The creature laughed beneath Harriet, making her whole body tingle. Somehow, she realized what was going on. It was really eager to drink her blood. Should she have been worried? Any more worried than she already was?

In a matter of seconds, they had gotten through the entire miles separating them from the last part of the run. The lake. Harriet slid off her ride, ready to hold her part of the bargain.

"Just a speck, huh?"

"I can't wait to sample it. Veela's blood…Give me your wrist." The spider asked.

Cries of stupor and horror could be heard and Harriet wondered if she wasn't making a mistake.

"You're not venomous, are you?"

"Not at this peculiar moment."

The dark glossy eyes blinked all at the same time and Harriet raised her wrist to the fat mandibles surrounding the monster's mouth. Would they really put extremely dangerous creatures in a competition involving first years? She had given her words and going in the lake meant being in her element. This race was almost over. The bite made her jump, but she resisted the urge to pull her arm away. It was over before she could even panic as Jordan was asking in his speaker:

"Is Potter getting eaten?!"

"Of course not, Jordan!"

It stung and Harriet spelled the wound closed with the healing stitches spell Pomfrey had shown her.

"Thanks little girl. Be sure to be careful to whom you grant your blood."

"I'll try to keep it to myself, thank you."

The spider laughed as it ran back to its stall and Harriet turned to the lake. Malfoy had coerced his snake into obedience and jumped in the water a minute after she had dived. As soon as her skin touched the water, Harriet felt a lot better. This was like a mother's embrace to her. The cold water soothed her nerves and she even dared to change herself for the first half of the lake. She was so fast as a turtle, not to mention immersing herself in the animal mind was calming. She switched back to human and swam as fast as she could, reaching the other side at the same time as Ron Weasley. Cho Chang, who had completed the race, gave her a hand and one encouraging smile.

"I don't know what you bargained with that acromentula, but you've got nerves of steel." The Asian girl commented.

"And that was mad swimming. She got past me so quick, I couldn't even tell it was her at first," Ron marvelled.

Harriet shivered in the fresh air, holding herself before to receive a blanket from Pomfrey, who stood in the shadows, next to a tent that welcomed the runners.

"Did you give blood to that spider, miss Potter?"

"Was that wrong?"

"No," the young nurse declared. "But you'd better be harder when you bargain. Next time, you'll lose a limb."

"I'm so doing nightmares over this." Harriet whispered out loud.

Just then, Malfoy appeared on the bank, his hair stuck to his head, breathing like an asthmatic. He wasn't used to swimming on such long distance and gave a nasty glare to the young girl.

"How… dare you get ahead of me, Potter!"

She ignored him, already feeling too tired. To think this was only the first trial. They were off to magic wrestling now.

…

"Cho Chang against Harriet Potter!" Lee Jordan announced.

Harriet knew she wouldn't win this part, but she'd hope to be against someone less advanced than Cho. The Ravenclaw girl was a second year and pretty much taller than the other. The only one as tall as her was Ron, who had been defeated by Dudley, much to his sisters surprise. Dudley was the discovery of the trials. He had done fairly well in the obstacle run and was balancing spells and wrestling like a pro. Harriet wasn't angry to see Malfoy losing against him, although she herself didn't do too well against Neville. Fighting Cho Chang was her last chance in this trial. She was still tired from the race and the slight blood loss, but she was keeping her energizing potion. Granger had proved strong in magic, but not in wrestling and was hoping to redeem herself in the duelling session.

Stepping on the ring, Harriet eyed Cho, who was looking for weaknesses. _She must be finding a lot of them,_ the young girl thought.

The match lasted longer than expected. Cho went easy on Harriet at first, not using magic and the few self defense moves the girl had learned proved useful. She was fast, but Cho had more endurance than her. After a few minutes, Harriet could barely stand up and the first spell Chang used worked, effectively pushing her out of the ring. In the end, Dudley won the competition, acclaimed by the ecstatic Hufflepuffs, with Neville proving to be the only one able to hold his ground against the Dursley.

Harriet was surprised to see her points ranking after the duel session. She had been really good, actually winning against Granger and claiming up the first place, followed by Cho and then Malfoy. She was a quick caster and had read a lot of chapters ahead in the defense against the dark arts, knowing a mean counter spell. In the public, Lily gave a meaningful look to Snape.

"Promising you said, huh?"

Severus shrugged his shoulders. The girl was pretty incredible for a first year, but then again, there was a lot of incredible first years this year. The next part might prove to be more difficult. The beast the kids were supposed to tame were just as dangerous as the rides provided earlier.

"Cho Chang have forgotten how to treat cornwell imps. But wait, Potter has a slime to tame. Are slimes even animals? Weasly, Longbottom and Malfoy all have their key, so does Thomas and Brown. It seems Granger has forfeited the competition. Sore los… Ouch! I meant… Good effort!"

Harriet was eying the slime at her feet with a dubious expression. She had heard from many different magical creatures during her life, read about even more thanks to Remus' books but this one. This one seemed peculiar, with her purple and dark spots in her half liquid half solid body. In the tribunes, Lupin asked for Lily's lens' scope and almost jumped from his seat.

"How could they use such a dangerous variety of slime in the middle of this competition?!"

Lily frowned, taking back the lens' scope. It wasn't any slime, but one of the most venomous sort to exist on the planet. It usually lived in Africa and the legend rumored it to have been created from the manipulation a wizard made on a bacteria and dark magic. The _epipholia subtilia_.

"She could get herself killed!" she yelped.

Severus waited a few seconds before to rush down the tribunes. He was followed by both Lily and Remus, although the competition was still going on. Surely McGonagall herself didn't know the danger the kids were exposed to, or she would have stopped the trials.

Harriet wasn't aware of the danger, only that she was one step away from a good night sleep and might just have a good ranking, even a better one than Malfoy. That was if she managed to finish this task. She talked, poked with her shoe and tried a few spells, but the slime was indifferent to each of her attempt. In the end, she levitated the slime toward the willow, who seemed scared by the small thing and refused to touch it. Harriet gently pushed her slime against one free key and much to her expectations, the key stuck to the grime texture of the creature, severed from the beating willow. Now it was just about levitating the slime back to her and grabbing the key.

The three wizards running toward her were at yelling distance, but a gust of wind covered their voices, while Harriet put the slime back down and crouched next to it, to retrieve her key. She saw purple and dark tendrils flaring on the slime as her hand towered over it and took an instinctive step away from it, but it was too late. Poison surged in the air, knocking the young girl out. Before that any more damage could be done, the slime was covered with a small dome of glass, conjured by Lily, while Severus removed the remaining poison from the air and Remus knelt next to his daughter.

The rest was confusion and Harriet would learn later on that each house had a representative winner, Hufflepuff having Dudley, Ravenclaw Cho Chang, Gryffindor the only with a tie between Neville and Ron while Slytherin's winner was none other than Harriet herself.

She woke up with a headache in the infirmary, all the curtains drawn since Pomfrey was working on a mixture right next to her bed. The young girl still had to understand why the nurse basked in shadows, but she had her doubts. Remus was sitting on the other side of her bed, gazing at her peaceful form.

"Turtledove," was the first word she heard and with a smile, she looked up at her father, although she didn't remember going back home during the last few hours.

"What happened?"

"You were attacked by the slime. Someone had snuck it in the competition. If you had touched it directly, you could have died…"

"Pretty much instantly. Those little things' poison is the worst." Pomfrey commented. "Here young girl. Drink this, and drink it entirely by the time I come back to check on you."

Harriet hadn't sat up, feeling light headed when the nurse hastily pushed between her hands a bottle of her freshly brewed mixture, which was a dark and deep shade of purple.

"Ewww. It smells."

"Drink, turtle bug. It will help clear your head." Remus told her.

She complied and felt somewhat better. When her father asked her how school had been so far, Harriet was surprised by the tears that welled up in her eyes. She hadn't cried herself to sleep after the many humiliations in transfiguration's classes, she wasn't one to cry, too proud to do so. But right now, after going through all the incredible ordeals of the Wrestomb trials, after giving blood to a giant spider and being told she could have died and remembering the few last week and her awful transfiguration exam, it was overflowing her senses.

Remus' hug made her feel better, well enough to sit in his lap and tell him a little about her school days. Severus' traps and Malfoy constantly trying to pull the rag beneath her feet and McGonagall's attitude were central in her monologue. Remus listened closely, hugging her whenever she seemed close to tears again. She apologized and he dismissed her words, knowing full well how hard a first year could be.

"I know you've made a few friends. A bunch of kids checked on you earlier." He observed when she fell silent, having vent everything.

"Neville would come, I know…"

"There was also Dudley and Weasley and even that Cho Chang. I think you impressed your fellow classmates today. To think you were worried of boys." He teased her.

Blushing and smiling all the same, Harriet felt a whole lot better. If they could bottle up a Remus Lupin's speech, it would work far better than any magic potion. Shuffling feet warned them of someone coming and she hurriedly slipped back into bed and rubbed her eyes, hoping it wouldn't be clear she'd been crying.

McGonagall walked into the infirmary, more severe than ever.

"So you're feeling better miss Potter?"

Harriet simply nodded while Lupin got to his feet.

"Professor."

"Mister Lupin." She acknowledged him. "I'd like to talk with your daughter in private."

"Anything you need to tell her, you can say in front of me, I'm sure."

"I see." Minerva pinched her lips but went on: "Today's incident is being investigated as we speak. You'll be the first to know when we reach a conclusion and find the culprit behind this… mistake. You were pretty impressive, miss Potter. I can't wait to see your first real competition."

She gave a small curtsy and walked out, passing by Severus Snape, who'd waltzed in the infirmary, balancing a few flasks on a platter.

"Professor." Minerva told him.

Snape moved aside, a little more than necessary, his face turning two shades paler. Harriet noticed the animosity between the two teachers and wondered where that was coming from.

"I brought a preventive antidote," Snape declared once McGonagall was out of hearing distance. "You must take one sip every morning and every night for the next week. It will remove any trace of the poison from your organism."

"Did aunt Lily made it?" Harriet asked as Remus took the small green bottle from Severus.

"I did. I've always been better at brewing antidotes."

He placed his plater on the table next to her bed and Harriet understood he was furnishing the infirmary with remedy and other potions. Of course Snape would be a great potion maker. He had studied with Lily and they were working together since forever.

"Thank you Severus."

"It's nothing. I can't let one of my best students get killed because Quirrell hasn't taught them of poisoned slime."

Harriet blushed. Did Severus Snape just praised her? Could that even happen? She eyed him curiously and he pulled a face at her puzzled expression.

"Lily didn't pay me to say that. You have real talent, miss Potter. For trouble I might add. You might want to be more careful when you face unknown magic. Touching it with your feet? Seriously?"

"Is he joking? I've never heard him joking before!"

That made Remus laugh while Severus simply shrugged. This was a truce. He had been worried when the werewolf had identified the slime. That poor girl might be his worst enemy's spawn, she was still a human being and didn't deserve to die at such a young age. _Or ever_ , he kept thinking despite his best effort not to care.

To be continued.

You know what I expect from you to post the next chapter… Please review and let me know what you think!


	6. On drowning and making friends

I'm sorry about the fact last chapter was another cliffhanger. Although I'm not entirely sorry about it. Cliffy make writing a whole lot more entertaining for me. I'm always glad to know what you think about the story. Without further ado, here it is…

Harriet Potter and the Misandry League

Chapter 6 – Of drowning and making friends

Harriet couldn't leave the infirmary before the next morning. She slipped into the Great Hall, trying to gather as little attention as she could. It was only when she sat at the Slytherin table that Marcus Flint, their Wrestomb team's captain called up to her:

"Potter, you're on the team. Training is at six every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday morning starting next week."

Harriet didn't know how to take the news. It sounded exciting. Tracey Davies, fellow Slytherin in first year and the girl who had been sick on the first banquet night clapped her on the back.

"There hasn't been a girl on our team for at least a decade!"

Draco looked gloomy, but Pansy Parkinson didn't wait long to tell Harriet that Malfoy also got on the team. That brown haired girl still despised her despite her achievements. The rest of their house were less concerned, although a few had wondered if she was pure-blooded or not. James Potter was pure-blooded without a doubt, but the fact her mother was unknown raised a few suspicions. Harriet wasn't exactly used to those questions of breeding. She knew that the Black family cared a lot about it, although Sirius couldn't have been more in contradiction with his parents.

"I'm specializing you in dueling and racing, Potter. Taming too if you can identify a threat by the end of the semester."

She blushed but laughed with the others, able to see Marcus had no ill-intent. He had dark hair and perfect teeth and was among the tallest and leanest in their team. Two bruisers, Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole, were the main wrestlers. With Terrence Higgs being their specialist tamer, and Draco walking in his steps, their team was close to the minimum of players, which was five.

"With her frame, I doubt she could last a week of training," Pansy whispered under her breath.

Draco might have agreed with the daring girl, if he hadn't been about the same frame as Harriet. He looked preoccupied and not really inclined into mocking anyone. Maybe was he realizing what he had gotten himself into by applying on the team. The first match would be against Ravenclaw, in one month exactly.

Harriet spent her day with Echo, walking among the grounds of Hogwarts. She could have tried to practice her transfiguration or to study in the library, but since she had detention tonight, she'd rather relax. A lot of people had taken to go out, since Snape's traps were only inside the castle. As she walked, lost in thought, a terrified squeal caught her attention. A group of girls were running from the lake, claiming they'd seen the giant squid eating someone.

Echo let out one worried bark, to be reassured by Harriet instantly.

"The giant squid would never eat a student." She told her red wolf.

She walked up to the lake, eying its surface with a mix of curiosity and envy. The water looked fresh and clean. Swimming the other day had been invigorating. Which reminded her that she never took the energizing potion. It was still in the pocket of her knickers. She wondered if she could use it before a competition. That would be like cheating. But she could always use it if she decided to study through an entire night.

Sitting down on the bank, Harriet stared down at her reflection, stroking Echo's fur as the small wolf curled in her lap, yawning slowly.

"You like being outside better than the dungeons, don't you?"

Two short barks. If their little code was working, that meant that Echo didn't mind the dungeon that much. Harriet saw ripples on the water and looked up just in time to see a long tentacle hurling something right at her. She dove for cover, shielding Echo without thinking. There was a thud on the ground and by the time she was looking up at the lake again, the red tentacle was gone. Her wolf whimpered and the young girl herself wondered what could be wrong with the creature, whatever it could be. She waited a few seconds, scanning the surface for any new movements. Nothing. She looked to her left, discovering a black stone, perfectly polished that hadn't been there before. The rock was almost as big as man's fist and shone under the sun. She reached for it, Echo immediately groaning.

"It would have hurt me if it hit, it's perfectly safe." She told the wolf.

It wasn't before her fingers touched the cool hard surface that Harriet realized how careless that was. But her curiosity had won over and nothing seemed to happen. She rolled the stone between her hands, examining it closely. On the flatter surface, she could make out letters that had been etched in the stone. D-R-O-W…

"Potter! Are you trying to summon fishes or something?" Malfoy's voice mocked her.

Harriet was half lying on the lake's bank, with mud in her hair and a bewildered red wolf by her side. She looked up and straightened herself, instinctively bringing the stone closer to her chest. Although the projectile could have killed her on impact, she felt a link towards it instead of being scared. It was strange and she might be under a spell, but if she was, would she even wonder if she could be? How did that work?

"Are you bored, Malfoy?" she retorted over Crabe's and Goyle's laughs.

"I was actually planning to congratulate you for making it on the team. But it seems your encounter with a slime has damaged your brain. I hope whatever you got isn't contagious."

Harriet got up, annoyed to be interrupted in her investigation of the mysterious stone. There was one letter left and she shouldn't give Malfoy any ammunition against her. She had the impression she could never really fit in with the Slytherin if she couldn't reach some kind of truce with the blond haired boy. She walked back to the castle, since the sun was reaching its zenith and that she wouldn't have much time before dinner time. She went to the library after leaving Echo in the common room, in case she needed references to identify the stone.

If someone had asked her why she was so intrigued, Harriet would have had trouble explaining. For all she knew, the giant squid had just tried killing her or sending her a message. When she was finally sitting and took account of the last letter etched in the stone, dread fell upon her.

 _DROWN_. That was the message send by the squid. Although she could hardly drown, unless she was knocked unconscious and thrown in the water with stones tied to her feet.

 _No one would pull a farce that elaborated just to wish someone to drown_ , she thought.

Examining the stone from up close, she noticed smaller marks beneath each larger letter. They were so small she had to screw her eyes and could barely make out letters.

 _i-v-e_ … beneath the "D".

"Dive? Could it be…?" she mused.

The word wasn't a dark suggestion or a word, but an acronym! She found a magnifying lens and deciphered the following etched letters. _Rescue_.

That sounded like a call for help! Harriet easily recognized the r that followed. _Dive – rescue – or_ …

"Wi… will… And now we have an N… What the hell is that? Nox… Noxa?"

 _Dive – rescue – or –will – noxa._

The first part was straightforward enough but the last segment seemed obscure and a little threatening. What could happen if the rescue didn't take place? What could noxa mean?

"Sounds Latin." Harriet thought.

She stuffed the stone in her bag and looked for the dictionaries section. There were runic and druidic languages that took an important part of the section, but she finally reached the dictionaries, to find Cho Chang immersed in a book with a spine larger than her head.

"Excuse me…" Harriet whispered, trying to slip herself between the second-year and the farthest shelve of books.

"Oh, Harriet! I'm sorry, can I call you Harriet?"

"Of course, huh… I'm just looking for a dictionary."

"A Latin dictionary? Are you studying a spell? For dueling maybe? You were amazing. I hope you're feeling better. I've been poisoned once by a Streeler my uncle kept and it wasn't very pleasant."

"A Streeler? Like a giant snail? I've never seen one."

"Has Quirrell already covered them? I thought it was second year material."

"My father studied a lot of magical creatures, so I know a few things."

Cho frowned at the mention of her father, but didn't push it. Harriet's actual family situation wasn't well known in the magical world, because a certain unknown villain could try to kill her parents if she knew they were both men. Since Lupin was the one taking care of her most of the time, she could name him, but Sirius had to remain a secret, especially since he was well known with his work as an Auror.

"Maybe I can help you with Latin. I've been studying it closely to have less trouble with my pronunciation. Asian magic isn't quite the same as what is taught at Hogwarts."

Harriet's interest was picked, but she knew too little about magic to delve herself in ethnologic differences so soon.

"Actually, I'm just looking for one word. It's… Noxa. I thought it could be related to light."

"With the Lumos and Nox charms, it's a good guess. But Latin is so old, there's a lot of hidden meaning sometimes. Is it a spell?"

"I don't really know. I fell on that word in some obscure book and it caught my interest."

Harriet wasn't sure she should show the stone to anyone she didn't know well. Neville would be a trusty confident, but Cho, although cheerful and less suspicious of the Potter girl than other students, was still basically a stranger. She had played fair in their wrestling confrontation though.

"Noxa." The Asian girl tried again, while she scanned the row of shelves. She grabbed a book and searched herself until she'd found the right page. "Here we are. Noxa can mean crime, damage or harm, among a few other things. It sounds pretty nasty whichever meaning they use."

Harriet wasn't exactly surprised. Dive – rescue – or – will – harm. Someone needed help or else… But it wasn't specific enough. The help was needed in the lake of course.

"Do you know of any being living in the dark lake?" she asked Cho.

"Huh… Water isn't really my expertise. I was playing Quidditch back home, you see. But I'm pretty sure something else than the giant squid must be hidden in there. Maybe Kappas or Nagas!"

"What are those?"

"Chang! We're going to be late for dinner." A young girl called.

"Oh, that's Marietta. I'll see you around Harriet. And I'll want to know where you read that word, Noxa."

Harriet wondered if she had just made friends with Cho. The girl seemed incredibly interested in her. She might have been slightly impressive as she faced the acromentula or managed to win the duels, but she couldn't see why Cho Chang could want another friend. She hadn't heard much from her, except that she was a really loyal and gentle person according to Luna, who was good friend with Neville since the incident in the Great Hall on their first night at Hogwarts.

She joined the Slytherins for dinner, sitting between Tracey and Marcus, who had insisted she sat close to him to have her memorizing their training schedule. Snape was supervising their training on Wednesday morning, while Hagrid took care of the two other sessions. Every head of house personally trained their Wrestomb team and Hagrid, while the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, was also the players' main coach. He was an expert in taming and wrestling, and brought balance in the training regimen, making sure no team was stronger than the other despite the different head of house.

A few owls delivered letters, Malfoy clearly reading bad news, since he turned even gloomier than he'd been in the morning. Tracey suggested going on an exploration of the dungeons to Harriet.

"It's only been a few weeks and I'm pretty sure there are interesting things hiding down there. This castle has evolved a lot since it was created."

The prospect was really interesting and could take her mind off the mystery of the lake, although Harriet had wondered if she couldn't look for books about the dark lake. The boys her age were all eating up Malfoy's words and Pansy Parkinson wasn't close to respect her. Maybe Tracey was trying to befriend her because she was famous, since the trials, but the girl seemed genuinely excited at the idea of exploring the dungeons. The older slytherins were mostly keeping to themselves and if Harriet wanted a friend in her own house, Tracey was a good choice. Although she did get sick an awful lot if the last few weeks were any indication. The girl had a frail constitution and Harriet had helped her changing her bed a few times already, before that house elves barged in, pleading for the human girls to not deprive them of work.

"As long as I can get to detention in time. I won't put it beyond Snape to give me another detention if I'm late to the first one."

"I bet you he won't. I heard he had plans with professor Evans before that McGonagall ordered him to take care of detention."

That didn't sound really good. In fact, Snape would certainly take his anger out on her.

"Why are you so scared of Snape, Potter?" Marcus asked her. "He's our head of house and you haven't lost any points so far or blown up the dungeons."

"I don't know. Must be the dark aura he basks into." She suggested.

Knowing smiles made her feel a lot better, until her trip through the dungeons with Tracey Davies ended up with Peeves chasing after them and covering both girls in green mucus. They had discovered an hidden room leading to older dungeons and one particular room, filled with moss and various plants. One of them sang with a beautiful voice, until Peeves erupted from a large, nefarious looking mushroom and jumped at the girls. After getting away, Tracey tried the cleaning spell they'd recently learned with Flitwick, missing only a few spots.

"At least we won't dirty the dorm or the common room," she sighed.

"Next time we try this, let's bring some salt."

"Salt? You mean, to get rid of ghosts?"

"My father told me it worked miracles."

Tracey raised one brow and blushed as she asked her:

"By the way… Who's your father, Harriet? I didn't see him on the trials' day."

The young girl wondered if her dorm mate was verifying something for someone. Malfoy had made her pretty wary of everyone with his numerous attacks and attitude.

"Oh, it's S… Remus Lupin. He was my godfather and took care of me for so long, it feels as though he's my real father."

Tracey nodded in understanding.

"I'm glad for you."

The words were quite sincere and Harriet wondered if Tracey had something on her mind concerning her own parents.

"It's hard being far from home, isn't it? Hogwarts is amazing…" Harriet started.

"But we still miss home. You're pretty perceptive, Harriet. I'd like to take more time to talk but…"

She was interrupted by a sneeze and stroked her shoulders.

"It's getting cold in those halls and I don't want to make you late for detention."

Harriet agreed and they hurried to their common room. The password had changed the very same morning, but luckily, both girls had good memories. Harriet switched shoes for clean ones – Peeves had been very thorough with his shots- and left while her house mates were preparing to go to the banquet. Malfoy barely noticed her passing by and forgot or hadn't the heart to try any insult on her.

She knocked on Snape's door right on time. She had never visited his office yet, but wasn't surprised to discover a dark room, with a cauldron brewing in a corner and various potions ingredients and instruments on an entire wall. He closed a wooden cabinet, waving for her to sit behind the lone desk in front of his own work table. Harriet not knowing what to do, sat and observed the opposing wall, littered in shelves that showed a variety of magic instruments, from steel pentacles to assemblages that looked close to torture devices.

"Those are off-limits, miss Potter." He warned her with a smirk.

She looked down to her desk, realizing she had been looking at everything so intently that she didn't notice when he had turned around and focused on her.

"What am I supposed to do, professor?"

"Transfiguration practice. To assure that your magic won't go overboard another time."

She winced at the harsh reminder but took out her wand, ready to try. Maybe that without McGonagall around, she could manage more than one correct transformation.

"No need for your wand for the moment. Take a quill, miss Potter."

She complied, not sure what Snape wanted to do. When he dropped a pile of parchments on her desk, she felt slightly overwhelmed. Each parchment was littered with questions about objects' structures and elemental constitution.

"Is that something McGonagall…"

"You will raise your hand if you want to ask a question, miss Potter." Severus warned her, running one hand through his dark locks.

They had been greasy eight months ago, but she could tell they were clean and wondered how Lily had managed to break a lifetime habit. She raised her hand:

"Am I supposed to answer all of this tonight?"

"Complete a parchment and then you'll practice with the object involved. You'll get through ten transfigurations before detention is over." He stated.

His eyes were resigned and his whole posture cried boredom. Harriet decided to forgo the question about whose idea it was that her detention turned into a remedial class and focused on the first parchment. It was about tea cup and dices. She felt her resolve waver as she remembered the humiliation of that first class. But Snape was getting back to his own books and parchments. She started answering the questions to the best of her knowledge. It wasn't exactly easy and she had to ask Snape for a few reference books, but he had them ready for her. After half an hour, she'd gotten through the first parchment and could take her wand out. Snape didn't give her any direction or incentive. He didn't look at her as she followed the movement and said the spell. The teacup shivered and Harriet closed her eyes not to see the change. If it was wrong, it meant she couldn't transform anything ever and she wasn't sure she could take it. After five minutes, Snape cleared his throat.

"Miss Potter, I'd rather not spend the next year in detention."

She jumped and looked at her work, to realize a die, without scale, without fins, a simple, honest to goodness die was waiting on her desk.

"I really did it?!"

"Professor Evans designed this to help you understand another side of transfiguration. Of course you would manage. Now get on the next parchment."

She couldn't feel mad even if he was belittling her achievement. She had managed a perfect transformation on her first try. She tried not to get excited, but it was easier said then done. Aunt Lily had worked hard on making those questions to guide her in the execution of every spell. While Harriet looked far too happy to be on detention, Severus swore to himself that if the girl got herself in trouble again, he wouldn't go as easy on her. This was simply the logical outcome. Student that didn't control their magic needed directions, not coercion. He had faced far enough coercion himself to know what he was talking about.

Although, when Harriet managed to transform an empty flask into a rabid cat and shrieked in a panic, Snape thought of exacting revenge for the stuff the cat managed to broke before he froze it. The girl had her strength and it seemed her transfigurations spells were extremely volatile if she didn't control her emotions. This was only her fifth parchment he realized. Lily'd better make it up to him, because he was currently mustering all the patience he would have been using during November…

To be continued…

So we covered two months of school and we're somehow accurate with the real timeline at that. This was not intended in the least, but nevertheless. ;) please review.


	7. Spelled Speech

In this chapter, a very important character for this story is introduced.

Harriet Potter and the Misandry league

Chapter 7 - Spelled speech

"Before we resume our discussion over class XX creatures, I'd like to mention that miss Potter was incredibly lucky when she bargained her traveling rights with an Acromentula last Friday." Quirrell declared. "Acromentulas are highly venomous and usually like eating human flesh. There are classified as …

"XXXXX creatures, professor!" Granger interfered.

"Yes, which mean that they are among the most dangerous living creature in our world. I'm telling you this as a warning. This particular Acromentula was trained by our gamekeeper to be amiable to human, most of the times, but other of her kind wouldn't think twice before reaping any of us to shreds."

The vivid description was enough to turn Harriet white and Draco snickered at her reaction, before that Quirrell asked him what he had been riding himself.

"A Runespoor, professor. It's an African specie…"

"How dangerous is it, mister Malfoy?"

"Huh… Around fourth rank?"

"Greatly dangerous then. His fangs are venomous too. Being a Parseltongue may have saved you from a very slow and painful dead."

Tracey whispered to Harriet:

"Is it me, or is the professor a little more dramatic than usual?"

Harriet nodded eagerly, feeling a little bit relieved to see that her friend was getting better. Davies had had a bad cold and was regaining some colors finally. She was allergic to most tonics and needed to wait out on her health to stabilize alone. Harriet's training on Monday morning had been taxing and she was dreading the next séance scheduled with Snape, right before her transfiguration class. The traps all over the school had already grown larger and she had fallen into two of them, being rescued by Neville once and managing to rescue herself the second time.

"Professor, was it really alright to use such dangerous creatures in the trials when we take into account the fact that there was a lot of first-years among the contestants?"

Granger was a little obnoxious at time, but she made a good point. Quirrell churned on his lower lip before to answer:

"Wrestomb is a harsh sport and contestants are called to face opponents that can be five years older and more experienced. I was a wrestomb player during my own years at Hogwarts and I must say that there is no way to learn faster and better than the ordeals we face in this sport. The ministry might want to be less hard on you, but creating separate teams for seven years of student would be a lot of trouble, wouldn't you agree, miss Granger?"

The explanation wasn't entirely satisfying, although it was honest. Quirrell was a nice teacher, bringing a new living specimen each week. He was good at scaring the students, pointing out all the reasons why this creature or that one shouldn't be approached by unexperienced wizards. Having travelled over the world for some unclear reason – surely a thirst for adventure, Neville had suggested – he was well-versed in creatures outside of England and seemed to prefer covering exotic subjects.

…

Lily Evans was a great teacher, but during today's class, she appeared disturbed, if not outright restless. She was teaching them the Blemish Blitzer potion, a simple, skin-healing mixture. First year's potions were mostly about healing or non life-threatening side effects. Lily could often be heard arguing with Severus about the potions that should be learned and those that shouldn't. A potion that made its drinker confused sounded completely stupid to the potion-maker, but her boyfriend thought that any potions that was in a student book should be taught, in case of unskilled tries. Anything wrongly mixed and brewed could easily turned into a poison, if not something worse.

Harriet exchanged a look with Neville as Lily vaporized a cauldron's content, scrunching her nose in disapprobation.

"We'll start over for this one." She said, quickly gathering ingredients and seemingly forwarding the brewing with a flick of her wand. Lavender Brown looked ready to cry as the teacher busied herself on her working station, as if that meant she had no skill and no chance to muster any even if she tried.

"Professor Evans, is everything alright?" Harriet asked.

"I don't know, miss Potter. Let me see how your mix is coming. This won't do either."

She vaporized the offending potion, which Harriet was sure to complete in time, since everything was going according to plan.

"Why are you all using dragon's claw powder?!" she protested angrily.

Lily never yelled and her eyes were so wide, Dudley himself, who was usually pretty oblivious, got alarmed.

"Professor Evans, this isn't funny." Granger tried.

"Of course it's not. You're all ruining perfectly good ingredients!"

The potion asked for dragon's claw powder and Lily had been perfectly fine with it at the beginning of the class. Harriet wished she had read that chapter over possession or the one over the spells a person could be put under. Ron swore out loud when Lily kicked his cauldron to the side, spilling the content on the floor.

"Mom?" Neville tried.

She froze and turned toward Longbottom, her eyes throwing daggers and her mouth opening to say something that could never be taken back. Harriet raised her wand, but someone else was faster, yelling:

"Immobulus!"

Granger stood, her wand extended and for a moment the class remained quiet, everyone under shock.

"Did you just attacked a teacher?" Dudley squealed.

The fact he didn't mention it was his aunt felt wrong to Harriet, but a lot of things felt wrong right now.

"She wasn't herself." Hermione retorted. "I don't know what happened to her, but this is not professor Evans."

"I'll go find miss Pomfrey," Harriet said, bolting out of the room. She was surprised to encounter McGonagall only four steps into her run.

"What are you doing outside of class, miss Potter?"

"There's an emergency, professor McGonagall. It's aun… professor Evans. We think she's been placed under a curse."

The headmistress frowned but took action despite her annoyance.

"Lead me to her. I hope you aren't pulling a trick on me, or it will be 40 points from Slytherin."

Upon entering the classroom, which was filled with puzzled and worried students, McGonagall realized that Harriet hadn't been lying. She hadn't removed the immobilizing spell put on Lily more than a second that the younger witch jumped at her throat. Without a word, the transfiguration teacher froze Evans on the spot and took a deep breath.

"Class is dismissed. Potter, go get professor Snape. Longbottom, get Pomfrey. The rest of you, get back to your common rooms. If you don't, it will be ten points less for each of you."

Everyone obeyed, Harriet wondering how grave the situation was. Dudley followed Neville, asking him what was going on. She would have want to make sure her friend was fine, but every minute she lingered was another minute with Lily under that strange spell. She found Snape in his office, neck deep in parchment. She hadn't knocked and he seemed angered by the interruption, until she told him what it was all about.

An hour later, Lily was waking up in the infirmary, un-cursed but confused. Neville had been authorized to wait next door with both Dudley and Harriet while Pomfrey worked her magic. The three teenagers hadn't exchanged a word, Harriet simply holding Neville's hand while Dudley stared at the wall in front of them. They could hear McGonagall arguing with Snape, but most of it was muffled by the walls. When the headmistress walked out, she told them that professor Evans was back to normal.

Harriet had never seen her so angry. She warily followed Neville into the infirmary, Dudley right on their heels.

"I was cursed? What did I do?"

"From what I could gather, you bullied your students." Snape told her teasingly.

"This is not funny at all. The poor children! How… I don't remember anything different from usual. What kind of curse was it Pomfrey?"

"A angry one. It messed with your head poor girl. But you should be fine now."

"Could you retrace the magic, Severus?" Lily insisted, clearly distressed that she could be put under a curse without her knowledge.

"It's really faint. Whoever did this was well trained. We'll go over everything you did today and yesterday together and find out who did this to you." He swore to her.

That was the moment the adults realized the teenagers' presence.

"Neville, Harriet, come over here!" Lily asked instantly, looking ready to apologize.

There were a few hugs and some shaking shoulders, but all seemed to end well. Although Harriet wondered how a curse strong enough to take over a witch as experienced as her aunt Lily could get inside Hogwarts. She wrote a letter to her father, taking that occasion to ask him what kind of work he did. Echo was happy to have somewhere to run off to and came back two days later, a letter strapped to her front leg. Remus was evasive, but mentioned tracking, while warning her to be as careful as possible. From the delay in Echo's return, Harriet guessed her father had to move around a lot to track whatever or whoever he was tracking. It sounded a lot like hunting and she wondered if it was a real job. If so, what could it be and who was his boss?

Still wondering about Remus' secretive attitude, Harriet used her spare time to venture to the library, where she usually met Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw always eager to chat and exchange about their studies.

When she met Granger outside of classes, Harriet tried to engage the conversation, but the young genius ignored her superbly. There wasn't a girl or a guy who was friend with her. For some reason, Hermione Granger kept everyone at a distance. She was perfect as a student, always on time, always knowing every answer, mastering spells as if she had created each and every of them. She was cold with her peers, sometimes suggesting changes in pronunciation or wand movement, always with an annoyed voice. Harriet knew Granger's only fail at Hogwarts had been the qualifications for Wrestomb. She didn't exactly resent her for her attitude. Except when she talked badly to Neville. The boy would get shy and close up whenever it happened and Harriet knew how far along he'd come.

It was when Granger started siding with McGonagall to torment her during transfiguration's class that she decided she had taken enough. Malfoy and Granger were now both on her pranking list. She just needed to find the right way to do it. And Tracey sounded quite ready for mischief, so did Neville and Ron. The four of them met a lot, outside the castle mostly. Ron especially loved walking along the forbidden forest, Hagrid's scarlet dog often joining in his walks. They would walk, revise together and mess around most of the time. Tracey was often covered in two or three more layers of clothes than the others, but she didn't mind, being accepted by both Gryffindor boys despite belonging to the Slytherin house.

As the training for Wrestomb intensified and as the exams before Christmas got closer, Harriet realized she hadn't thought of the lake again. Lily had gotten back to normal and Snape had a suspect for the angering curse. The shiny stone still weighed heavily in Harriet's bag, warning her about a danger and a potential rescue. She sneaked out in the middle of the night, evading traps, Filch and even Peeves, until she was standing on the lake's bank, her breaths making visible puffs in the air. She took the risk of diving on a cold November night. It was a bad idea, she knew it, but when she turned into a turtle, the cold couldn't reach her anymore. She dove as deep as she dared, discovering the merpeople and evading Grindylows. While the world outside slept, the lake was filled with life. And before that she could get to the bottom, a tentacle grabbed her and brought her toward a terrifying mouth. The turtle's instincts were to struggle and bite.

Harriet didn't listen and changed back into her human form without thinking. She was not getting eaten by the giant squid. Surely not. The water's pressure hurt her ears but soon, she was being dragged upward and before she could entirely comprehend what was happening, she was back in the open air, freezing but alive, held up by a red and glossy tentacle.

"So you won't eat a student, huh? Good to know."

 _Mea culpa._ A boy's voice whispered in her head.

"You're not talking? Are you some kind of telepathic creature?"

 _I'm talking to your mens._

"To my what? Can you put me down? Or talk perfect English?"

 _Sorry, impossibile._

"Was it you who wrote the message on the stone you threw at me the other day?"

The voice let out a deep sigh and Harriet forgot the cold, wondering why the squid's voice sounded so young.

 _You shouldn't stay here in the frigore. Come back after winter, we'll loqar._

"But someone needs to be rescued."

While she talked, the squid raised himself and brought her closer to the bank, letting her off to stand in the water.

 _I wasn't sure anyone would read lapis._

"I read it. Did you write it? What did you mean by noxa?"

 _Noxa means great harm. Damage everywhere, to everyone. She's noxa and she's doom._

"Are you really a squid? I'd never read squid could talk. And who is she?"

 _Give me a name, puella._

"I'm Harriet Potter. And you'd better have answers when I come back in spring."

She felt more worried than before, although a few answers had been given. But the squid was right, she was going to freeze alive if she remained there. So she turned her back on the squid and the lake and sneaked back into the castle. Unfortunately, this time, she didn't elude everyone. She wasn't as fast since the cold had numbed her feet.

"Who's out into the night?" Filch asked angrily. "And what are you doing, drenched like this? You realize the floor won't mope itself, girl?"

The man was old, but still incredibly vigorous. He grabbed Harriet's arm in vice-like grip and brought her in front of a precise painting, where one annoyed McGonagall appeared after a bit of nagging.

"Miss Potter? Was she lurking around the school's corridors at night, Filch?"

"A perfect deduction as always, headmistress. What should I do with her?"

"Escort her back to her dorm for the moment. I'll see that she goes in detention for a full week."

Harriet wondered if being up past curfew called for such drastic measures but knew she would only worsen her case if she argued. Filch escorted her, ranting about the punishments he could inflict on students back in the good old days. She was still drenched and more cold than ever when she finally found herself alone in the common room entrance. To her surprise, one student was still waiting next to the fire place and when she recognized Tracey, she wondered if something was wrong.

"What are you doing still up?" Harriet asked through her chattering teeth.

"I could ask you the same question. I was ill in the middle of the night and noticed you weren't there. You do realize you have practice tomorrow and… Holy mackerels, you're soaked! What did you do?"

Harriet let herself fall in front of the fire place, exhausted and tired of hiding things.

"If I told you I went for a swim in the lake, what would you say?"

"That you're suicidal. But there must be a reason behind this. If you truly dived in the lake…"

"Tracey, I haven't told this to anyone yet. It felt wrong."

Her friend looked alarmed and Harriet didn't realize how weird and dark it could sound. She quickly showed her the stone, the message engraved in it, explaining her strange encounter with the giant squid and the few words they'd exchanged. At first, Tracey couldn't believe her. But after Harriet turned herself into a turtle right before her eyes, the frail girl admitted that anything was possible in their world of magic.

"He talked about a woman or a female person and called her doom? You don't think the squid meant… she-who-must-not-be-named?"

The idea had barely registered in Harriet's head, but it was highly possible. The old clock in a corner indicated three am and the cold had settled inside Harriet's bones, leaving her as shivering mess of sheets and short hair.

"You should change clothes and go to bed," Tracey told her. "You have training at six with Hagrid tomorrow and you won't be able to get through it if you catch a cold."

"And you'd better sleep too." Harriet realized.

Her friend was fragile and Pansy would be mean enough to hint on her premature death every time Tracey looked a little green or unwell. Which happened quite often.

"I don't know if I could. How could the giant squid know anything about you-know-who?"

It took them another full hour of speculations and conspirator theories to reluctantly get back into their beds, both mentally exhausted but overly excited all the same. Tracey had an adventurous mind and Harriet knew this was pretty big, although other students certainly discovered stranger things in their own schools.

When early morning came and Harriet managed to slip out of her bed, she was shivering, too confused and sleepy to eat and already late for her training sessions. She ran to Hagrid's house, was yelled at by Marcus and shoved on a makeshift ring to practice wrestling against Draco. The boy looked pissed and was clearly ready to take his anger out on her. Harriet would have wanted to do the same, but her body was slow and her movements uncoordinated. Malfoy pushed her face down on the ring, holding her arm in her back so high she could feel tears stinging her eyes.

"Who the hell are you with, Potter? Always hanging around with Gryffindors like this moron Longbottom. I'm sick of hearing Marcus praising you." He muttered in her ear.

"You're supposed to use speechless magic, not mean words, Malfoy."

"You think the other kids will be nice to you when the wrestomb matches will start? You think you can be friend with every freaking house?"

She didn't know where this was coming, but the more she squirmed, the higher he pulled her arm and soon the bone would break and she couldn't focus through the pain, couldn't think through the haze of her own fatigue.

"Malfoy!" Hagrid called. "Release her right this instant!"

"Not before you admit it, Potter. You lost us 50 points with your escapade last night. Or maybe you think no one knew yet?"

This was the first news she had of this. But she had been caught with her hand in the bag, so to speak.

 _One week of detention and a Draco that wants to kill me? That's just wonderful, McGonagall._

If she didn't know better, she would say that the transfiguration teacher was her own personal she-who-must-be-named.

To be continued…


	8. One white lie

Last chapter wasn't going exactly well for Harriet, except that she didn't get eaten by a giant squid. Now, what will happen to the young girl?

Harriet Potter and the Misandry league

Chapter 8 – A thin white lie

Harriet felt fresh tears on her cheeks when Malfoy let her go, shame eating away at her heart. She realized this had been going on for too long, whatever was happening with Draco and her. It would only escalate and since he had been the one hurting her directly this time, not using Goyle or Crabe, and since he was training to get stronger, she didn't want to think what he could do in a few years.

"You want to ask for allegiance or something? This is supposed to be a school," she reminded him through gritted teeth.

"And we're supposed to be a team," Terrence intervened, walking up to the ring where Draco stood and Harriet was now sitting, cradling her arm to her chest. "This kind of behavior will not be tolerated here. We can break down opponents, not team mates. Malfoy, you're apologizing to Potter. And you two will start working together or one of you will be off the team if I have a word to say about it."

He left them to focus back on his own training, taming some Grindylows, Hagrid having insisted that they would be in the next match. Harriet took a deep breath, drying her tears angrily while Draco looked even more pissed then before.

"I'm not taking back what I said." He warned her.

"I might take back my comment about your father. I didn't mean to be harsh. And I'm almost sorry for the black goo trick."

His grey eyes widened at her admission, but if he felt any anger, he swallowed it back until she continued:

"This doesn't mean that you're not a moron or a brat. But we're going to be in the same house for the next seven years and I'd rather not commit murder before I'm an adult. I'd go to Azkaban either way, so let's delay that option as much as possible."

"Did you just insult me, Potter?"

The fact he made no gesture to attack her told Harriet she was going along the right tracks. She rose to her feet, gingerly using her sore arm to raise herself. The pain was still strong and her bones seemed to shift together, making her gnash her teeth. Malfoy finally had the decency of looking slightly ashamed.

"Just a taste of your own medicine. Now, can we call a truce? A least until next week's match?"

"Is this really a war for you?" he sighed, crossing his arms defensively.

"I don't know anymore. But I know that if you're angry because of my friends, you'll be angry a long time. So deal with it without trying to break my arm."

At any other time, Draco would have considered that she'd gone too far. But right now, he felt somewhat bad about his conduct and he had to concede he'd been a brat here and there.

"So I can break anything else?" he tried as a feeble joke, not understanding just how much it meant.

Harriet blinked twice, unable to realize this was a good kind of teasing until he laughed in her face. Marcus interrupted their interlude, ordering Harriet to get back to duel training while Malfoy would join Adrian's taming practice. The young girl barely managed to realize a truce had been reached when the morning of the match arrived. December was upon them, she was managing through half of her transfigurations and Lupin's letters were rarer with every passing week. The match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor would be on the following week. In their last exchanges, Cho had literally asked her if she held any grudge from their wrestling match.

"I didn't think I could win that trial anyway and you went easy on me. I don't resent you. Why? Isn't Wrestomb a sport played in good fun?"

"Of course, but we also play to win. So I don't want you to have hard feeling about us winning." Cho said quickly.

It seemed she was pressured by her peers to win and since it was her first year competing for the team, she was just as nervous as Harriet. The slytherin girl befriending people from other houses wasn't entirely uncommon, but it made people talk.

"Okay. We'll see about it." Harriet answered, giving her a smile that was mainly due to wishful thinking.

…

"Sev?"

The defense teacher sighed against her shoulder, his warm breath giving goosebumps to the young woman.

"Did you really had to hire Lupin as if he was some mercenary?"

"You weren't supposed to know that. And you weren't supposed to be cursed by some random wizard either. Lupin was going crazy and he's a good tracker. He found Pettigrew and soon he'll found Lockhart."

Lily had been shocked to realize her curse had been hidden in a letter she'd received from her usual delivery owl. Gilderoy Lockhart was a man known for his dashing smile and heart-broken ex-witches. The seducer was also rumored to have a great mastery at erasing memories with powerful memory charms. Many of his wrathful exes had been hexed into oblivion, left with barely enough memory to walk and eat. When she'd received a letter from him in early November, Lily had been cautious, but not extremely alarmed. She had rebuked Lockhart advances at the end of her seventh school year and had remained on friendly terms with him, receiving news from him every now and then. His letter had been the usual, although she felt funny after reading it. Upon closer inspection, Severus had discovered traces of a magical powder which could be used to anger someone. By touching the paper, the red haired witch had been contaminated and slowly fell under the spell.

"I know Pettigrew has been feeding the enemy with information for all these years, but I'm not sure what Lockhart's aims could have been."

"I don't care about those details."

They were lying in bed in the early morning before the competition. If McGonagall knew they sometime shared each other rooms, she might go crazy with propriety speeches, but Snape wasn't afraid of the headmistress when Lily was involved in the matter. Snuggled close, unable to sleep and not ready to get up, they were both musing over the latest news. She-who-must-not-be-named hadn't attacked anything recently, but the Men Eaters had kept themselves busy. The ministry of magic had been attacked twice and Cornelius Fudge had barricaded himself, sending his orders to his personnel via patronus only.

"There isn't a way to make one person uncursable, is there?"

She turned around in his arms, inching closer to him and for an instant he remembered being like this with someone else and his heart ached for reasons he couldn't explain. The memory vanished before he could picture a face or even a name. He hated those brief impressions he would get every now and then and hoped Lily didn't notice anything. Her green eyes seemed sad for an instant.

"Are you still sleepy, Sev?"

He shook his head and stole a brief kiss from her, stealing her breath and all he could steal to give back afterwards. To be only with her. To think only of her. That had been his life at one point and even that had been taken away, while half erased memories ate up his peace of mind at night. There might be a curse on him. Or remnants, he couldn't tell. If he could keep Lily protected and safe, it would be enough. He had been promised this much in exchange for the tortures but now wasn't the time to dwell on pain, not with her fingers in his hair and her lips on his.

When they parted, the ache was back, stronger, because he already missed her and the peace she gave him.

"I think I'm going to need another of your potions soon." He admitted after getting dressed.

She was about to walk out the door, about to sneak back to the Great Hall ahead of him, as if they were back to being teenagers when they'd never share anything like this as teenagers.

"Nightmares again?" she ventured, right once more.

He shook his head in a positive sign. There was nothing positive about it. Nothing that could ease the pain etched to her eyes. One last kiss for the day. Brief caresses and sweet breathes on his cheek. How could he miss anyone else than her? What had they done to him? And who were _they_?

….

"Today's match will be divided in two tasks. Taming and dueling." McGonagall announced.

Harriet wasn't nervous. She didn't jump each time Marcus talked to her and whenever someone in the crowd waved at her. Harriet wasn't a literal nervous wreck, not her, not Harriet Potter raised by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Harriet was a ball of nerves and her stomach had been jittery and untrustworthy the night before and right before breakfast and she could bet she would be sick another time. If only Draco wasn't sick right next to her, it would be easier to hold it back.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Potter. You'll be right with me," Marcus told her with a smile.

Dueling at this stage of the competition meant two against two matches. Harriet had crammed as many spells as she could in her head and felt as if her eyes could burst out of their sockets. Against them were Cho and a Ravenclaw fifth year. For the taming, a maximum of five creatures would be offered to each team and the one taming successfully the highest number of creatures would win. If there was a tie, it would mean one point for every team. Malfoy went up first, backed by Terrence. The first creatures were a group of Grindylows, then feral ghouls that proved a bigger problem, for both team. The third creature, a Pogrebin, almost drove the Ravenclaw girl to despair, but was subdued by both team. The fourth creature however was too much to handle and Harriet couldn't put a name on it even if she tried to remember every book she read from Lupin's shelves.

"We have a tie between Slytherin and Ravenclaw for now. The dueling phase will prove essential in determining a winner!" Lee Jordan observed.

 _Thanks for the pressure_ , Harriet thought angrily.

She stood elbow to elbow with Marcus, her wand ready. Her main opponent was Cho, since the older Ravenclaw was more experienced than her. One instant the world was quiet and suddenly, there was fire and sparkles of magic everywhere. She kept bouncing-spell shields around her, glad to have mastered that spell, but was surprised when Cho managed a silent jinx on her. After one full hour of dueling that got every contestant bloodied and breathless, McGonagall called a tie on the match. Harriet could barely stand on her feet and didn't know if she would even be able to muster another spell even if it could save her life. Marcus didn't look much better. His parting handshake with the opposing team's captain looked more as if both guys were trying to crush each other's hands.

Half an hour later, Harriet was glad to say it was over. Although McGonagall had declared her detention would be under her direction this time around. Before she could exchange a word with any friend outside the team, the headmistress had whisked her to the castle grounds and was walking towards the forbidden forest.

"We're not going in the forbidden forest, professor?"

"Well, Albus Rutherfood Dumbledore once told me that if a student was found doing something forbidden, the best way to prevent him or her from doing it again was to show the student why it had been forbidden in the first place."

Harriet didn't like that, her freshly showered hair clinging to her nape, her wand slipping in her moist palm. She flexed her fingers and eyed the lake an instant. Swimming in there wasn't forbidden. Going out of Hogwarts at night was highly forbidden, but since she had supposedly been out, McGonagall could make the conclusions she wanted.

"Is there a purpose to us visiting the forbidden forest?"

"Someone has been lurking around the castle." Minerva answered her.

"I'm not sure I should…"

"This is exactly the feeling I want you to nurture from this expedition, miss Potter. Now, clap your mouth and be ready to protect yourself. Our invader shouldn't be too deep in the woods. Unless he'd make a pact with the Centaurs and I don't fancy him for that kind of man."

There was a few strident howls and Harriet wondered why the night had fallen so quickly. The match had taken place at midday and lasted for about three hours. With the departure of everyone, it was still fairly early. But the sun was already setting and she noticed the moon, almost full as it dangled between clouds. Her thoughts went to her father, who was tracking something or someone. They slipped beneath the cover of the trees, McGonagall using the lumos charm but ordering Harriet to refrain from shedding any light of her own.

"From now, you'll be my shadow, young girl. Walk in my steps and don't lose me."

McGonagall was walking fast and Harriet followed eagerly, afraid of being left in the dark forest. The path the headmistress took seemed almost random, and Harriet was wondering if she wasn't planning to simply lose her in the woods and head back to school, to pick her back up by the end of the week. She wouldn't put it past her teacher, while the cold intensified. The tree branches were low enough to bump into her, sometimes pulling on her cloak's sleeves. She shook them off as quickly and silently as possible, following the long and steady steps of her detention master. She could hear creaking sounds and wings flapping over her head. The forest was definitely filled with life.

What class of living creature, she didn't know and wasn't sure she wanted to. Movement behind her and a laugh from McGonagall made her jump.

"No playing hide and seek with me, Lockhart! You have nothing to do around those grounds."

A roar answered the transfiguration professor.

"A rodent too? I'll take care of you both."

Harriet wasn't sure if McGonagall remembered that an eleven year old girl was supposed to follow her when she took off into a run. For a middle-aged woman, Minerva had a light step. Harriet managed to keep her in sight a whole total of five minutes. A green light in her general direction surged and vanished almost instantly, convincing Harriet to stay away from the headmistress. She hadn't seen a lot of nice spells with green effects. And the roaring and groaning was getting closer to her, while a ruffle of leaves had her raising her head.

There was a man in the trees. Jumping, almost flying from one branch to the next. She heard his laugh before that something furry and a lot taller than her pounced her into the ground. Her forehead hit a thick root and she felt blood in her nose as something in her left arm snapped. She blinked, her wand slipping from her shaking fingers. A warm breath in her neck preceded wetness. Saliva? She was going to be eaten while McGonagall chased some guy with squirrel-like-abilities?

Harriet tried a stunning spell, throwing it blindly over her shoulder. The mass of muscles tackling her to the ground shuffled backward and she finally managed to look at it through the mud covering her face and the blood slowly dripping through her parted lips. The thing was a werewolf. A skinny, tall, greyish werewolf with blue eyes that reminded her of someone very familiar. The beast snarled at her, but was too dizzied to get back on its feet immediately. There was something hurt in its eyes, something that wasn't animalistic and suddenly, Harriet knew.

Remus. His tracking job. The fact she couldn't show up at home and he had trouble answering her letters. How could he be in wolf form at this time of the month? How could he control it enough to…

"Da…"

Recognition filled his deformed features and he backed away, before to freeze and raise his eyes. There was a spell hurled in the rushing wind, the words muffled by the trees' foliage. Harriet felt the earth shaking beneath her and covered her head, diving for cover. When the worst of the false earthquake was over, she realized the werewolf was gone. And she couldn't hear anything from the forest, except muffled whispers.

"I almost had him this time." McGonagall sighed, walking back to Harriet's spot.

Noticing her student, covered in filth and blood, the headmistress seemed to regain her senses.

"Miss Potter? Did you lose me? What attacked you? Oh, forget it! Up, up, we'll finish this discussion inside the castle. You might be a tad too young to be my shadow, aren't you?"

"I don't even know what you mean," the young girl replied, getting up with her arm hanging at a weird angle.

"Should I fix that and have you not learned why it's dangerous to be outside the castle at night?"

Harriet wasn't sure the teacher would help her if she replied correctly to her trick question. She knew she would go out at night again despite curfews and rules. She had to if she wanted to learn more about what the giant squid knew. She nodded curtly and was rewarded with a quick healing spell.

"I hope you know how to clean yourself. I'm escorting you back to the castle and will be contacting you as soon as I find what should be your next detention."

Harriet didn't protest, but waited a little while to ask one of the few questions she had running in her head. The greatest one was about Remus, but she wouldn't mention him to McGonagall.

"Did you saw Lockhart?"

"Only a bit. A nasty bit of him. This man is an animal."

Harriet frowned, not sure she understood. Fortunately, the castle was opening its door and she could rush back to the slytherin's table. On her way there, Neville caught her wrist and pulled her in the chair next to him.

"Huh, Nev, this is the wrong table for me."

"Just a minute, Harriet. I need to know what happened exactly. Where have you been? We were supposed to revise your dueling match and exchange tips over Ravenclaw and we'll do the same next week about Hufflepuff."

"I was in detention. In the forbidden forest."

"For real? I love the forbid… How was it?" Ronald asked her, leaning over the table in her direction.

He had a wide expectant grin on his face and Harriet noticed the tiny dark bag beneath his eyes.

"Frightening. It might sound crazy, but do you know anything about werewolves?"

Ron hastily pulled away, his cheeks heating up.

"Sure, I know a bit. Who's asking?"

She ignored his unease while Neville's eyes were going from Ron to Harriet as he puzzled what she could be after.

"It's not the full moon tonight."

"Of course not," he snapped almost angrily. "Why?"

"I saw a werewolf. A fully transformed werewolf. And I wondered if it was possible to transform even when…"

A spell blew up the pie in front of Ron, throwing hot meat on everyone's face. The red-haired boy gritted his teeth together, his head turning toward Georgie, who smiled at him, sitting two places further.

"Whatever this is about, it's not the time or place to have this discussion." She declared.

"I'll talk to you later, Neville, I swear, I'm just…"

Harriet was at a loss of word and her friend let her go, clearly understanding what she couldn't voice. She felt lost and betrayed. Why was Remus out in the wild, playing the big bad wolf? How come he hadn't recognized her instantly?

She borrowed parchment from Tracey and wrote furiously a single line on the letter she was sending her father.

 _Tracking? In that state? What are you doing, dad?_

To be continued…

Is there more than one werewolf in Harriet's immediate entourage? What's going on around Hogwarts? All will be answered one chapter at a time, as long as you let me know what you think of this story.


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